Nov. 10 vs. Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio Network
Washington Capitals (9-6-0)
Ottawa Senators (11-6-1)
After spending 26 of the last 27 nights in the DMV, the Caps are headed out on an actual road trip, their fourth of the young season, but their first multi-game journey in more than five weeks. The Caps are headed out for a two-game trip to Ottawa and New Jersey, respectively, their first road trip of the season that is not attached in some way to a set of back-to-back games.
As they hit the road on Monday for Tuesday’s trip opener in Ottawa, the Caps have played the fewest road games (four) of any team in the NHL, and the season is now six weeks old. After playing 11 of their first 15 games on home ice, the Caps are now heading into a road-heavy stretch over the next five weeks. Beginning with Tuesday’s game against the Senators, the Caps will play 11 of their next 16 games away from the friendly confines of Capital One Arena.
The Caps are coming off a 4-3 victory over Florida on Saturday afternoon, a game in which they played a consistently solid 60 minutes from opening puck drop to the final horn. After taking Sunday off, the Caps reconvened for a Monday morning practice before going wheels up to Ottawa later in the day.
Monday also marks the 45th birthday of Caps coach Spencer Carbery, who was urged to take a “hot lap” at the outset of practice to mark the occasion.
“Yes, yes, that was fun,” says a smiling Carbery of his loop around the rink. “Forty-five years young!”
Although they dropped two of the three games on their most recent homestand, the Caps actually played quite well over most of the 180 minutes of hockey in those three games. As they head into this road heavy stretch where the season finally starts to feel like a season, Washington’s game – particularly at 5-on-5 – looks like it’s in a good place.
“I would agree with that,” says Carbery. “We're sort of tracking our last eight games – so, going from the LA game on – and trying to ignore the results, but also be cognizant of the fact that we drop some points there. But our process and how the game looked, and our underlying numbers, and the film, and player individual production, there's a lot of positives inside of that.
“So, we'll try to continue to build on that and now take that on the road. And if we can continue to try to find ways to win games inside of that, [so much the better]. You can play well, and that's all great, but we’ve got to find ways to grind out points. And now doing it on the road will provide its challenges, but we’re looking forward to continue to try to maintain and stay consistent with the level of play that we've established over the last seven or eight games.”
The players on the ice are seeing and feeling what Carbery is talking about, too.
“I think the last two games we're playing good,” says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. “Dallas, there's some funky stuff going on, but I think we tilt the ice. We dominate most of that game, and then a tough Florida team comes in, and the guys did a great job at finding a way to get a result. And it's a small sample size of the last two games, but it looks more and more like our hockey, and the biggest thing in this league is the consistency of being able to string it together for three, four, five and six games, and just doing it on a nightly basis. So that's the next step, I think, for our club is we’ve just got to make sure we stay as consistent as possible.”
With a handful of new faces in their locker room this season, it’s crazy to think the Caps have spent just two “off” nights on the road, nights in which they can go out and grab dinner together the night before a road game. Even stranger is the fact that both of those nights were in the same road city of Raleigh, where the Caps have already played each of the two road games they will play in Carolina this season.
“I think the guys are looking forward to it,” says Carbery. “We've had so much time at home and so many home games over this last little stretch. It'll be nice to get out on the road now. That provides some challenges when it comes to playing in different environments and against teams and last change and all that good stuff. But I think the guys are looking forward to just getting out into onto the road, into some hotels, and just as a group, there's a lot of productive things that can come from getting out on the road.”
Having such a home-heavy slate early was a blessing for Alex Tuch, one of those offseason newcomers, and the Caps’ leading goal getter with 11 lamplighters through the first 15 games.
“For me, it’s been nice to be at home with the little ones there, especially a two-month old,” says Tuch. “I just try to help out my wife as much as possible, because I know that it’s going to change here pretty quick.
“And playing in front of the home crowd has been awesome. They’ve given us a lot of energy and they’ve kept us in a lot of games, too, if we have a tougher start. That’s been really good to see, and it’s been awesome, especially being a new guy coming in and really getting the lay of the land, the practice rink, the area and everything like that. I’ve been able to spend some time in Arlington and DC, too.”
Just before departing Dulles, the Caps learned they’d lost goaltender Remi Poirier, whom they acquired from New Jersey for a seventh-round pick in 2027 just over a week ago, on Nov. 1. New Jersey had claimed Poirier off waivers from Dallas on Sept. 27.
Washington also announced the recall of veteran defenseman Justin Holl from AHL Hershey. Holl joins the team as a spare defenseman for this trip. He got into three games with the Caps earlier this season, scoring in each of the first two of those games.
Defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who is still recovering from offseason knee surgery, went through an entire practice with his teammates on Monday, and he will join them on the current road trip, though he will not play in Ottawa or New Jersey.
Blueliner Vincent Desharnais (appendectomy) skated on his own before Monday’s practice, and he will remain at home as he continues his recovery.
After dealing captain Brady Tkachuk to Florida over the summer, the Senators have rolled out to an impressive start to the season. Ottawa is holding its own in the competitive and tightly packed Atlantic Division standings. The Sens have been consistently solid through the season’s first six weeks; they will enter Tuesday’s game on the heels of consecutive victories, and they have yet to go more than one game without collecting a standings point.
The Sens have also activated goaltender Linus Ullmark from injured reserve; the netminder missed a couple weeks of action with a lower body injury. When he has been healthy this season, Ullmark has been the best goaltender in the League. He is 7-1-0 in his eight starts this season, with a 1.33 GAA and a .945 save pct. Ullmark has earned two victories in games he did not finish this season, and he has yet to face more than 30 shots in a game in 2026-27. He also has yet to yield more than two goals against in any appearance.
Ottawa recently returned from a five-game road trip in which it fashioned a 2-2-1 mark without Ullmark. Upon returning home to start a three-game homestand, the Sens topped Utah by a 4-2 count on Saturday night in the homestand opener. The Caps supply the opposition for the middle match of the Sens’ homestand on Tuesday, and Colorado comes in on Thursday to close it out.
