October 12 vs. New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
New Jersey Devils (2-1-0)
Washington Capitals (0-0-0)
At long last, the Capitals drop the puck on their 50th anniversary season on Saturday night at Capital One Arena when they face the franchise formerly known as the Kansas City Scouts, and now the New Jersey Devils.
It’s the first of four Saturday nights the Caps and Devils will be sharing this month and next. The two teams tangle a week from now in Newark in Washington’s first road game of the season, and they play on consecutive Saturdays in November as well, one Nov. 23 in the District and Nov. 30 in New Jersey.
Fifty years ago this week, the Capitals and the Scouts entered the NHL as the last two teams in the Original 18. But the Scouts’ stay in KC was brief; they moved to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies in 1976-77. That rocky mountain high lasted six seasons before they moved to the swamps in northern New Jersey in 1982, which, coincidentally, is when the Caps emerged from their own eight-year expansion cocoon.
Eight seasons into their existence, the Caps lugged a 163-375-102 record and zero playoff appearances. They’ve missed out on the postseason a combined eight times in 42 years since.
(Quite coincidentally, “42” is also the number of goals Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin – set to skate in his 20th opening night NHL contest on Saturday – needs to catch Wayne Gretzky [894] for the top spot on the League’s all-time ledger.)
Last season, Washington shoehorned its way into the final Eastern Conference playoff berth in the waning minutes of the final regular season game, in Philadelphia. This season, the Caps have higher hopes and aspirations in the wake of a busy offseason that gives the team a fresh look on the ice. And they’re champing at the bit to get going; the Caps last preseason game was a week ago. They’ve had a couple days off and several practice days since, and on Saturday they finally join the Anaheim Ducks as the last two teams to break the seal on the 2024-25 campaign.
“I think for the most part, our team is ready and we’re excited,” says Caps’ forward Connor McMichael. “Waiting this long makes you hungrier, and we get to watch a couple of regular season games before we start. I think we’re all hungry, we’re all excited, and we’re all motivated, for sure.”
The Caps spent Thursday night participating in Caps 50 Fest, a grand and festive celebration of the team’s golden jubilee at Capital One Arena, featuring a host of alumni from day one – Oct. 9, 1974 – through more modern times. The Stanley Cup and the legendary Phil Pritchard made an appearance, as did Third Eye Blind – live in concert – putting a great coda on a grand event.
Following Thursday morning’s practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery spoke of the value of the current Caps being on hand to witness Caps 50 Fest. The Caps of the past also convened at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Friday for an alumni game, and they’ll be in attendance on Saturday when their modern counterparts take the ice against the Devils.
“I absolutely do, yes,” says Carbery. “I always think it’s a good reminder of the players that have laid the foundation and come before you, so there is an appreciation component of seeing all these guys come back and how much the organization has meant to them, their careers and their families.
“And then maybe a little bit of a reminder, because sometimes you forget how fortunate you are to play in great organizations that players love – and there have been so many great moments before you that have come – and then you sort of have an ‘a-ha!’ moment of, ‘I’m playing in an incredible organization where there’s this many incredible players that have had all these certain things that have been done,’ and [you realize] it’s pretty cool.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to play for the Washington Capitals and play in the 50th year and all these alumni are coming to be part of the festivities, then play in their own game as well, and then watch us on Saturday night.”
This year’s model – the ’24-25 Caps – was also introduced to the appreciative Thursday night crowd. Fully a third of the Washington roster is new this season; the Caps have managed to accelerate a youth movement in the last two years. And in the last decade, they’ve done well at attracting and retaining personnel.
“The culture that the guys before me built and we’ve kept for the last ten years,” begins right wing Tom Wilson, “is one where when you come in here, you’re accepted for who you are. And as long as you own who you are and you bring something to the table, you’re going to be accepted by this group. A lot of guys come here and fine their groove and have a lot of fun doing it.
“It starts with Ovi. I think that anyone who has played with him will say that it starts with him. He makes you feel comfortable, and then from there, you start rolling as a group and hopefully pick up a bunch of wins. A lot of people love playing here now, and that’s a testament to the culture, to the fans, and to everything this organization has built. It’s been a fun journey for me, and I can tell that the guys who are coming in, they’re excited about this year.”
While Saturday night’s game is the first for the Caps this season, it will be the fourth for the Devils. New Jersey opened the season with a “home and home” set of back-to-backs against Buffalo in Prague last weekend, sweeping to Sabres to return to the States (U.S. and Garden) with a 2-0 mark. But the Toronto Maple Leafs spoiled the Devils’ home opener on Thursday in Newark, 4-2, as Devils’ bench boss Sheldon Keefe’s former employer defeated his current one.
The Caps got a look at the Devils in Jersey early in the preseason, before they embarked upon their European adventure. New Jersey dressed a reasonably representative lineup for that Sept. 25 game against Washington, but film from their three previous regular season forays may prove more fruitful for pre-scouting purposes.
“Hopefully, it’s a benefit,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “We’ll know at least what they look like from line combinations, [defense] pairs, and their structure with the new coach. And it’s a small part, but it helps us when we’re running through the pre-scout. We’ll have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing as a team.”
The Devils also underwent an offseason influx of new personnel, turning over about a third of their roster. Ex-Caps defenseman Brenden Dillon is one of the new Devils, skating the left side of the team’s top blueline pairing with Dougie Hamilton.
