The Washington Capitals will have to only wait three games before getting another shot at the Pittsburgh Penguins — the team that eliminated them from the playoffs and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins will visit the Verizon Center on Oct. 11 in the Capitals’ fourth game of the season. The Capitals’ full regular-season schedule was revealed Thursday.
The Capitals open their season on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 5 and their first home game is Oct. 7 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Other dates to circle on the calendar include Dec. 23, when Washington will play Nate Schmidt and the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas. The two teams will also meet in Washington on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 4. (The scheduled start time for the Capitals game is at 12:30 p.m., so don’t worry.)
The Capitals host the Tampa Bay Lightning the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 24. Washington will also play the Penguins at the Verizon Center again on Veterans Day, Nov. 10.
As part of the NHL’s Stadium Series, the Capitals will host the Toronto Maple Leafs outdoors March 3 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
The Capitals will take their bye week from Jan.13-17. The NHL introduced the concept of a bye week last season with each team taking five consecutive days off.
The Capitals are back-to-back winners of the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the team with the most points in the regular season.
The Capitals went 55-19-8 last year and led the league with 118 points.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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