The National Hockey League announced June 21 the 2016-17 regular-season schedule for its 30 member clubs. The Washington Capitals will open the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center on Thursday, Oct. 13, with the first home game of the campaign set for Saturday, Oct. 15, against the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. at Verizon Center.
The NHL will pause for the 2017 NHL All-Star Game, which will be held on Jan. 28-29 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. In addition, the Capitals schedule will pause for a six-day break from Feb. 12-17.
Washington has seven homestands of at least three games on the schedule, the longest being a five-game stretch at Verizon Center from Nov. 16-25. The Capitals have seven stretches of at least three consecutive road games and a season-high five-game road trip from March 28-April 4. In addition, the Capitals will have 16 sets of back-to-back games.
