The Capitals will open their preseason schedule against the Boston Bruins on Sept. 26 at Capital One Arena, which will start a two-game preseason homestand that will additionally feature the New Jersey Devils on Sept. 29. Washington will then face the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 2 to kick off a three-game road trip that concludes on Oct. 6 against Boston at TD Garden. The Capitals will then return to Capital One Arena to host Philadelphia on Oct. 8 to conclude their preseason.
The Capitals did not play a preseason game during the 2020-21 season, but were 5-1-0 in the preseason in 2019-20. Washington's all-time preseason record is 170-128-33-16.
The full preseason broadcast schedule and the complete 2021-22 NHL regular season schedule will be released at a later date.
The complete preseason schedule is listed below:
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sun. Sept 26 | vs. Boston | Capital One Arena | 5 p.m. |
| Wed. Sept 29 | vs. New Jersey | Capital One Arena | 7 p.m. |
| Sat. Oct 2 | at Philadelphia | Wells Fargo Center | 7 p.m. |
| Mon. Oct 4 | at New Jersey | Prudential Center | 7 p.m. |
| Wed. Oct 6 | at Boston | TD Garden | 7 p.m. |
| Fri. Oct 8 | vs. Philadelphia | Capital One Arena | 7 p.m. |