As the old saying goes, you can’t make the playoffs in October- but you can certainly miss them. The Washington Capitals, fresh off a split of a season-opening road trip, now get 8 of their next 9 games and 12 of their next 14 at the under-construction Capital One Arena, starting with what should be an emotional home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday.
The opener will be Washington’s first regular-season home game since last April, when there was uncertainty over Alex Ovechkin’s future. Now, there’s certainty this will be Ovechkin’s 21st and final home opener for Washington.
The Capitals have a three-game home set, then one quick trip to Carolina, and then back for five more before their last game of the month in Nashville. Then, another three-game homestand, meaning in exactly a month Washington will have played over a quarter of its home schedule.
So, with 24 points on the table, after an inconsistent first six periods of the season, it will be paramount for the Capitals to get into a groove quickly with the schedule tilted in their favor.
Despite missing the playoffs, Washington was 25-11-5 last season at home, well above their sub-.500 mark on the road. So clearly, with the league’s sixth-best home record last year, the Caps will need to skate well at home or need to play catch-up away from it.
With the opening three-game set, two are Metropolitan Division Rivals in the Penguins and New York Rangers, and two missed the playoffs last season in the Blueshirts and Seattle Kraken.
The higher expectations of this year’s team, as well as the added announcement of Ovechkin’s pending departure, make the next month at home a very pivotal early point in the team’s season.
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