Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
With the regular season schedule for the 2024-25 NHL season out, fans are circling dates and clearing their calendar to watch the best matchups, favorite teams and players from out of town, and some of the best talent in the world. NoVa Caps lists the 10 best games to look forward to of the season for the Washington Capitals and writes a few observations from examining the team’s 82-game slate:
10. Sun 3/9 vs. Seattle Kraken (3:30 PM ET)
After Chandler Stephenson signed a seven-year contract in the Emerald City, Seattle has three 2018 Stanley Cup Champions with Andre Burakovsky and Philipp Grubauer also there. The Kraken, who host Washington at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, January 23, are expected to be much improved this season after signing Stephenson and Brandon Montour. They also have one of the most beautiful hockey sweaters.
Stephenson and Burakovsky are the only players who won with the Capitals in 2018 and have raised the Cup a second time afterwards (Burakovsky: 2022 with Colorado Avalanche, Stephenson: 2023 with Vegas Golden Knights).
9. Weds 10/25 vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7:30 PM ET)
Washington wraps up a home-and-home set with old friend Garnet Hathaway and Philadelphia in the only game on the NHL schedule for October 25 in what is expected a national televised tilt on TNT after Philadelphia hosts them the previous night (6 PM ET) on the league’s annual “Frozen Frenzy.”
The games between these two teams last year made for excellent cinema with physicality and the Capitals clinching the final postseason berth to eliminate the Flyers in both teams’ final game of the regular season. Head coach John Tortorella is once again expected to make Philadelphia competitive again this season and his teams have always had some great battles against Washington whether with the Flyers, New York Rangers, or Columbus Blue Jackets.
Philadelphia will also visit the District on Thursday, March 20 (7 PM ET) and Washington will be at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, February 6 (7 PM ET).
8. Thurs 11/21 vs. Colorado (7 PM ET)
Reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon brings Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and the rest of his Avalanche to town for the lone time this season just prior to U.S. Thanksgiving and second and final meeting between the two teams six days after the Capitals come to Colorado, which will be at 9 PM ET.
7. Tues 12/31 vs. Boston Bruins (12:30 PM ET)
Washington hosts Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and rival Boston for a New Year’s Eve matinee. The two teams have always had bad blood and the Bruins have consistently been near the top of the NHL for the past few years. Boston fans always have a good showing on the road as well.
Like Washington, Boston has improved this offseason after signing Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov in free agency. While their core is getting older, the additions that they have made, their strong defense, and having Jeremy Swayman in net should keep them in contention in the Atlantic Division.
Washington will visit Bean Town on the last night before the NHL’s holiday break (December 23 at 7 PM ET) and April 1 (7 PM ET).
6. Weds 11/13 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 PM ET)
Two-time 60-goal scorer and reigning Maurice Richard winner Auston Matthews and William Nylander will take Toronto, Rasmus Sandin’s former squad, to D.C. for their lone visit of the regular season and an expected TNT broadcast.
While it is questionable whether Mitch Marner will be a Maple Leaf for much longer, Toronto fans travel well and always bring the energy no matter where the team plays, and the District is no exception.
The Capitals will be in Toronto on Friday, December 6 (7 PM ET) and for their first game after the NHL’s holiday break and Hockey Night In Canada on Saturday, December 28 (7 PM ET).
5. Sat 10/12 vs. New Jersey Devils (7 PM ET)
Former Capital Jonas Siegenthaler and Jack Hughes lead the much-improved Devils to D.C. for Washington’s first game of the season.
New Jersey had a disappointing 2023-24 campaign but should be among the top teams in the Metropolitan Division this season after acquiring goaltender Jacob Markstrom, ex-Washington defenseman Brenden Dillon, and blueliner Brett Pesce this summer.
These two teams will see a lot of each other in the first two months of the season with Washington in the Garden State exactly a week after this one (7 PM ET). The Devils will come to the District just before U.S. Thanksgiving (Saturday, November 23 at 7 PM ET), seven days before the squads finish off their regular-season set at Prudential Center (7 PM ET). This matchup could very well be a postseason preview.
Newly acquired Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Brandon Duhaime, Taylor Raddysh, and Logan Thompson could all make their Capitals debuts in this contest.
4. Sun 2/23 vs. Edmonton Oilers (1 PM ET)
Reigning Conn Smythe winner Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and defending Western Conference Champion Edmonton will make their lone visit to the nation’s capital for what should be a nationally-televised telecast on TNT. McDavid recorded the third-most points in a postseason ever (8-34-42) in just 25 games and has posted seven 100-point seasons.
Edmonton, who will host Washington at Rogers Place on Tuesday, January 21 (9 PM ET), also boasts Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman, two more of the NHL’s top-30 in scoring from last season.
This will be Washington’s first home game after the league’s two-week break for the Four Nations Faceoff in Boston and Montreal.
3. Saturday 3/22 vs. Florida Panthers (7 PM ET)
Matthew Tkachuk, a two-time 40-goal, 100-point scorer, and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Panthers will make their second of two visits to Capital One Arena for a Saturday night showdown with less than four weeks to go in the regular season.
Florida, the class of the Eastern Conference after advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in a second consecutive season, will also be in Washington on Tuesday, February 4 (7 PM ET). The Capitals will be at Amerant Bank Arena for the only time this season a night before Thanksgiving (Wednesday, November 25 at 7 PM ET).
2. Saturday 1/4 vs. New York Rangers (12 PM ET)
The second of three meetings after the Rangers swept the Capitals in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs is a Saturday matinee expected to be nationally televised on ABC. The game also closes out a three-game holiday homestand for Washington.
New York, led by former Washington head coach Peter Laviolette, will run it back with a similar core with Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Chris Kreider, and Vincent Trocheck after falling in the Eastern Conference Final last season, which followed a Presidents’ Trophy victory.
Washington and New York, who also features enforcer Matt Rempe, have a long history with many postseason battles and on-ice incidents dating back for decades, which has been highlighted over the past five seasons. The Rangers will come to Chinatown on Tuesday, October 29 (7 PM ET). Washington’s lone trip to Madison Square Garden will take place on Wednesday, March 5 (7:30 PM), which should also be a national game.
1. Fri 12/20 vs. Carolina Hurricanes (7 PM ET)
2018 Stanley Cup Champions and long-time Capitals Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov will make their first of two visits to Washington with Rod Brind’Amour’s Hurricanes this season in the final weekend before the NHL’s holiday break.
Carolina, who also features Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, and Jaccob Slavin, has been the cream at the crop in the Metropolitan Division this decade as they have won their division three of four possible seasons. Last year, they finished just three points behind the Rangers for the division crown.
This will be the final meeting between the two teams before April, when they face off twice in the last eight games of the regular season (Wednesday 4/3 at PNC Arena at 7 PM ET, Thursday 4/11 at Capital One Arena at 7 PM ET). The first clash of the season between the two division rivals will go down on Sunday, November 3 at 5 PM ET.
Other Notes From Washington’s 2023-24 Regular-Season Schedule
- Washington will
- make two visits to play the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in the first two months (Saturday 10/26, Wednesday 11/27)
- Have two four-day breaks in December (12/8-12/12, 12/24-12/28)
- Host the Utah Hockey Club for first time on Super Bowl Sunday, February 9 before the break for the Four Nations Faceoff
- not play Winnipeg Jets until February and play them twice in seven-and-a-half weeks (2/1, 3/25)
- have two Western Conference road trips in three weeks in March (at Anaheim Ducks on 3/11, Los Angeles Kings on 3/13, San Jose on 3/15; Winnipeg on 3/25, Minnesota Wild on 3/27)
- have home-and-home set with Columbus Blue Jackets on back-to-back days in final weekend of regular season
- not visit New York Islanders until April and play on Long Island on 4/6 and 4/15
- 11 of Washington’s final 18 games will be on the road
- have just two road games in February, ironically both in Pennsylvania (at Philadelphia on 2/5, Pittsburgh Penguins on 2/22)
- Eight of the first 12 games will be at home
By Harrison Brown
