Photo by John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images

With the 2023-24 NHL schedule out, everyone is circling certain dates on their calendar when rivals, fan favorites, friends and/or family’s teams, or fun matchups come to their town. NoVa Caps picks the top 10 Washington Capitals’ home games to look forward to this upcoming season.

10. Weds 11/8 vs. Florida Panthers (7:30 PM ET)

The reigning Eastern Conference Champions, who eliminated Washington in six games during the first-round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, visit Capital One Arena for the lone time during the regular campaign in what should be a nationally televised tilt. Florida features left-wing Matthew Tkachuk, who tied for fifth in the NHL with 69 assists, tied for sixth with 109 points, and tied for 14th with 40 goals; and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who mostly had a dominant postseason (.935 save percentage, 2.21 goals-against average, one shutout through three rounds). This game will be the last of a five-game homestand, which ties a season-high for Washington.

The team will fly down to Florida twice, both coming in February for matchups on the Thursday the ninth (7 PM ET) and Saturday the 24th (6 PM ET) at FLA Live Arena.

9. Weds 1/3 vs. New Jersey Devils (7:30 PM ET)

Two former Capitals in defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler and goaltender Vitek Vanecek take New Jersey into town for an expected national televised outing and the first of two times during the regular season.

New Jersey, who is led by centers Jack Hughes (finished eighth with 43 goals, tied for 12th with 99 points) and Nico Hischier (49 assists, 80 points), took the next step in 2022-23 when they finished third in the Eastern Conference with a 52-22-8 record after missing the postseason nine times in the previous 10 campaigns. They are a group on the rise and could be one of the favorites to come out of the East this season.

This game will be Washington’s first of 2024 and a five-game homestand. New Jersey will also visit the District on Tuesday, February 21 (7 PM ET) while Washington is scheduled to be in the Garden State on Wednesday, October 26 (7:30 PM ET) and Friday, November 11 (7 PM ET).

8. Thurs 1/11 vs. Seattle Kraken (7 PM ET)

2018 Stanley Cup Champion goaltender Philipp Grubauer and left-wing Andre Burakovsky lead Seattle into Capital One Arena for the lone time of the 2023-24 season.

Seattle had a breakout campaign in 2022-23 when they qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time as they went 46-28-8 and ousted the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

The outing will be the fourth of a five-game homestand for Washington, who is slated to visit Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, March 14 (10 PM ET).

7. Weds 3/20 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 PM ET)

Center Auston Matthews, former Washington goaltender Ilya Samsonov, and Toronto will visit town with four weeks to go in the regular-season in what is expected to be a nationally-aired tilt. The teams pulled off a blockbuster trade that sent defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the nation’s capital on February 28.

Toronto has been among the NHL’s power houses for several seasons and there is no reason to believe that this one will be any different with talent like Matthews in addition to right-wings William Nylander and Mitch Marner.

Washington also hosts Toronto on Tuesday, October 24 (6 PM ET) as part of a 16-game NHL slate that day and makes their lone stop in the Six just eight days after this matchup in March (7 PM ET).

6. Fri 11/24 vs. Edmonton Oilers (3 PM ET)

Centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who were first (153 points) and second (128) in league scoring during the 2022-23 regular season, will lead Edmonton into Capital One Arena for Washington’s annual Black Friday matinee and one game of 15 on the NHL schedule that day. McDavid also led the NHL with 64 goals.

Edmonton, who will host Washington at Rogers Place on Wednesday, March 13 (9 PM ET), is expected to once again be near the top of the Western Conference. Washington will finish a four-game homestand vs. Edmonton before heading out West for five straight games in California, Arizona, and Las Vegas.

5. Sat 12/30 vs. Nashville Predators (7 PM ET)

First-time GM Barry Trotz, who led Washington to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018 as their head coach, and his Predators will stop in the District for the only time this season.

The contest will be Washington’s last of 2023.

Nashville, who will host Washington at Bridgestone Arena exactly two weeks prior to meeting them in D.C. (8 PM ET), features star goaltender Juuse Saros and defenseman Roman Josi.

4. Tues 11/14 vs. Vegas Golden Knights (7 PM ET)

The defending Stanley Cup Champions make their lone appearance at Capital One Arena as Washington begins a four-game homestand. Center Chandler Stephenson became the second member of Washington’s championship roster to win it all again (Burakovsky with Colorado Avalanche in 2022).

Vegas featured the leading scorer (center Jack Eichel: 13 assists, 26 points) and co-leading goal scorer (right-wing Jonathan Marchessault, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP, with Draisaitl: 13) during the postseason.

Washington defeated Vegas in five games during the 2018 Stanley Cup Final to win their lone Stanley Cup in franchise history. They will make their annual visit to T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, December 2 (10 PM ET).

3. Friday 10/13 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (7 PM ET)

Speaking of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, the hero who scored the game-winning goal in Game 5 in Las Vegas for Washington, center Lars Eller, will return to Capital One Arena for the first time since the team dealt him to Colorado on March 1.

Eller signed a two-year contract in Pittsburgh as an unrestricted free agent four months later.

This will be the first game of the season and home opener for Washington and second for Pittsburgh. Both team’s lengthy postseason streaks (Washington: eight years, Pittsburgh: 16) ended in 2023 and each continue to pursue the Stanley Cup with left-wing Alex Ovechkin and center Sidney Crosby still going strong even in their twilight years.

Washington will also host Pittsburgh on Friday, April 5 (7 PM ET) and visit the Steel City on Tuesday, January 2 and Thursday, March 7 (both 7 PM ET).

2. Saturday 12/9 vs. New York Rangers (7 PM ET)

Former Washington head coach Peter Laviolette and defenseman Erik Gustafsson make their first of two stops back to their old stomping grounds with the other coming on Saturday, January 13 (1 PM ET). Laviolette coached the Capitals for the last three seasons while Gustafsson played well in a 61-game stint with them in 2022-23 before getting dealt to Toronto for Sandin.

Like Toronto, New York is an original six team with fans who typically travel well. These divisional rivalry games tend to get routy and physical, which always gets some juice going in the building.

New York, who hosts Washington at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, December 27 and the following day after this matchup, boasts defenseman Adam Fox, right-wing Artemi Panarin, and goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

1. Friday 1/5 vs. Carolina Hurricanes (7 PM ET)

Defenseman Dmitry Orlov, who played 686 regular-season games from 2011-23 and won a Stanley Cup in Washington, returns to Capital One Arena for the first time since the team dealt him to the Boston Bruins on February 23. He signed a two-year contract in Carolina, who comes back to Washington on Friday, March 22, during the offseason.

Carolina has won their division in three straight seasons and a growing rivalry with Washington, who visits Raleigh on Sunday, December 17 (6 PM ET) and Friday, April 5 (7 PM ET), dating back to their first-round series in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The team, who went to Eastern Conference Final last season, is led by center Sebastian Aho, left-wing Andrei Svechnikov, and defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

By Harrison Brown