The Washington Capitals will open the upcoming 2023-2024 season at Capital One Arena against its rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on Oct. 13, the team announced Tuesday.
Washington will have four homestands of at least four games and 21 of the 41 home games will fall on weekends.
The Caps twice embark on season-long, five-game road trips — from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4 and March 11 to March 18 — accounting for two of their four stretches of at least four consecutive road games.
Washington, which struggled last season when playing the second game of a back-to-back, will play 15 such games this season.
The 2023-24 NHL season opens on Oct. 10 with a tripleheader headlined by the Vegas Golden Knights raising their first Stanley Cup banner.
The league and its 32 clubs released the 1,312-game regular-season schedule Tuesday.
The puck drops again with the Nashville Predators facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed by the potential debut of presumptive No. 1 pick Connor Bedard when he and the Chicago Blackhawks visit Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. One-hundred-twenty days after winning the Cup, the Golden Knights will begin their title defense against the Seattle Kraken in a preview of the Winter Classic.
The schedule also includes just the second-16 game day in league history on Oct. 24. Games will be staggered throughout the night from 6 p.m. Eastern on, March Madness-style.
April 18 is the last scheduled day of the regular season, with the traditional 16-team playoff tournament to follow.
WTOP’s Rob Woodfork contributed to this report.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
