The Washington Capitals season will be here soon. Last month the schedule was announced for the complete regular season. You can find the full list to download and print out here.
It all begins at home against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena. The Caps will have six homestands of at least three games. The longest will be three four-game homestands Oct. 14-21, Nov. 22-28 and March 14-22.
The Caps will also have five stretches of at least three consecutive road games including a six game road trip from Jan. 19-29. The Capitals will also have 14 sets of back-to-back games.
18 of the Capitals 41 home games will be on weekends, including five games on Fridays, nine on Saturdays, and four on Sundays. There are holiday home games on Halloween on Oct. 31, against the New York Islanders, and New Years Eve on Dec. 31 against the New York Rangers, followed by New Years Day against the Ottawa Senators Jan. 1.
Last season the Capitals posted the seventh best home record in the NHL at 26-9-6 and ranked fourth in the league in goals per game at home at 3.68.
The schedule will pause league wide for a 17 day break from Feb. 6-22 for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Their Oct. 8 home opener against the Bruins is the third time in the last eight seasons they've started the season at home against Boston. They did so in 2018-19 when they raised their Stanley Cup championship banner and then again in 2022-23.
Washington hasn't opened on the road since the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season when they started with four games on the road, two in Buffalo followed by two in Pittsburgh.
Three nights after they open against the Bruins, the first of 14 back-to-backs will take place in New York when they visit the Islanders on Oct. 11 and the Rangers on Oct. 12.
Prior to the Olympics in Milano and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, which will take about three weeks, the Caps host the Nashville Predators Feb. 5. They won't play again till the 25th, when the Philadelphia Flyers visit the District.
Overall the Caps will play their first 41 games of the season in the span of 86 days, with the midway mark on New Years Day. They'll play their second 41 games in the span of 84 days.
The Caps finish the season with an April 12 home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Will that game be the last time Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby face off against each other?
Which game are you looking forward to this season?