The Washington Capitals have hit the ice for practice the last couple of days. Things are ramping back up again for the homestretch of a 50th anniversary season like no other. You got Alex Ovechkin 16 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record. You also got the Capitals on top of the boards in the standings in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division.
The road ahead
So what's left of the Capitals remaining schedule between now and the postseason? The short answer is not a lot. First up is a road Saturday afternoon matchup nationally televised against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 3 p.m. on ABC and ESPN plus in a regular season series split between 1-1 as both teams are going opposite directions, the Pens in the bad way.
Next up is a home Sunday afternoon matchup with the Edmonton Oilers at 1 p.m. on TNT. Following that are two home contests to end the month against the Calgary Flames on the 25th and the St. Louis Blues on the 27th.
Then the month of March gets a little interesting. You got a Saturday afternoon matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on the first. Two days later it's a 6:30 p.m. puck drop against the Ottawa Senators on home ice. Then the Caps head to MSG for a TNT matchup with the New York Rangers on the fifth. They're back home on the seventh and ninth taking on the Detroit Red Wings and Seattle Kraken, respectively.
Then it's off to California. On the 11th they're at the Anaheim Ducks then on the 13th it's the Los Angeles Kings and on the 15th the San Jose Sharks. After that road trip the Caps are back home for three. They'll see the Red Wings again on the 18th in what could be a first round playoff preview. Then it's the Philadelphia Flyers on the 20th and the Florida Panthers on the 22nd.
On the 25th a road rematch against the top dawgs in the NHL in the Winnipeg Jets (at least League standings wise) awaits. Then on the 27th the Caps head to Minnesota to take on the Wild. The month of March rounds out with a home contest against the Buffalo Sabres on the 30th.
Then it's on to the final month of the season. Who knows where the Caps will be standings wise on if they can finish this thing off and win the Metropolitan Division and secure a good spot for the playoffs? But it'll prove to be a good test.
First up is a road back to back in Boston against the Bruins and in Carolina against the Hurricanes on April 1st and 2nd. On the fourth there will be a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Then on Sunday the sixth is a TNT matchup on the road at the New York Islanders.
Get your ESPN plus subscriptions ready because on April 10 against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. (unless you're at Capital One Arena), because the game will only be on ESPN plus and Hulu exclusively.
On April 12th and 13th the Caps will take part in their final weekend back to back of the season. First in Columbus at the Blue Jackets before they come to the District the next evening. The April 13th game is the home regular season finale.
Then on April 13 the Caps are in Long Island to take on the Islanders at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The regular season concludes on April 17 in Pittsburgh against the Penguins on ESPN. Then the Stanley Cup playoffs will begin.