Top 3 Capitals home games to get excited for in 2022-23
The Washington Capitals 2022-23 season will be here before we know it. After looking at the top 3 road games to plan a trip for, we’ll now take a look at the top 3 home games you have to buy a ticket to.
There’s many home games to look forward to and it was difficult to narrow this down to just three so I decided to break it up.
We’ll look at the top game to go to at the beginning of the season, the middle of the season, and of course the end of the season.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
#3 Opening Night vs. Boston Bruins
There’s nothing like Opening Night at Capital One Arena. From Rock the Red carpet to waving glow sticks in the air when the players come out to the ice. It’s a celebration of the return of hockey to the District.
The Caps will be looking for some payback in early January after they blew a 3-0 lead to the Boston Bruins. They allowed the Bruins to score seven unanswered goals, sucking the life out of the crowd.
Wouldn’t it be nice to return the favor? Wouldn’t be the first time the Capitals scored seven goals on Opening Night against the Bruins. That’s what they did after they raised their Stanley Cup banner in 2018.
#2 Jan. 26 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
This will be the second home matchup with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins after they meet on Nov. 9. It’ll be at this point in time in January where we’ll get a little bit of a read on the direction that both teams are heading.
This game also occurs when the Caps are back from their three game western road trip. They’ll have two more road games after that to close out the month of January.
The Caps split both of their home games against the Penguins. They won the first matchup 6-1 on Hockey Fights Cancer night. It was a memorable game and there’s nothing like watching the Caps beat Pittsburgh in person.
In that game Martin Fehervary scored shorthanded and Garnet Hathaway added another. Then Daniel Sprong and Conor Sheary lit up the scoreboard in the second period. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson on the power play put the finishing touches on a dominating performance.
The Caps dropped the second matchup 4-2 in December. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller provided the goals for the Caps.
What’s interesting coming into this season is that both Crosby and Ovechkin have grey hair now. Makes us all feel old.
#1 April 2 vs. New York Rangers
Late in the season the Capitals hold a matchup against the team that nearly ended the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup defense. Even though they didn’t, the New York Rangers had a remarkable season and people in New York are excited about this upcoming season.
This is also an important Metropolitan Division matchup. It’s likely both teams will be in the playoff race and good seeding will be up for grabs.
The Caps beat the Rangers on opening night in their lone visit to the District last season. That included goals from T.J. Oshie and Justin Schultz on the power play. It also included rookie Hendrix Lapierre’s first NHL goal. Then Alex Ovechkin brought the house down in his journey to becoming third all time with two goals.
The Caps should also have Tom Wilson back which is always a fun storyline whenever they play the Rangers. It could also be a potential first round playoff preview in the first or second round depending on how far the Caps go.
More. Early 2022 predictions for Conor Sheary. light
It will be an interesting season for both teams and I could see one of them seizing the moment and taking the Metro Division. The question is who and this game may determine the winner or which team has what it takes to get over the top.