Opening Night – Tonight at Capital One Arena, the Caps open up the 2025-26 NHL season when they host the Boston Bruins. Coming off a 111-point season in which they finished atop the Eastern Conference standings, the Caps are seeking to prove that last season’s 20-point improvement is no fluke.
Washington opens the season with a well-layered bell curve of a roster in terms of the players’ official age (age as of Feb. 1) this season: Alex Ovechkin (40), John Carlson (36), Nic Dowd (35), Trevor van Riemsdyk (34), Dylan McIlrath, (33), Charlie Lindgren (32), Tom Wilson (31), Matt Roy (30), Sonny Milano (29), Anthony Beauvillier (28), Brandon Duhaime (28), Dylan Strome (28), Logan Thompson (28), Jakob Chychrun (27), P-L Dubois (27), Declan Chisholm (26), Martin Fehervary (26), Connor McMichael (25), Aliaksei Protas (25), Rasmus Sandin (25), Vincent Iorio (23), Hendrix Lapierre (23), Justin Sourdif (23) and Ryan Leonard (21).
Many of Washington’s key players are still in or are approaching their “prime seasons” –which typically run from mid-20s to early 30s – and others are either well-established veterans coming off strong seasons or promising youngsters seeking to develop the night in and night out consistency that will ultimately result in a lengthy and successful NHL career.
As was the case last season, the Caps’ room is brimming with belief, and some are a bit miffed that the hockey world at large doesn’t seem to see Washington as a team that can replicate – or come reasonably close to replicating – its magical 2024-25 regular season
“I think it has to motivate you,” says Caps goaltender Logan Thompson. “I can only speak for myself, but I know nothing more than people doubting us and calling us lucky motivates me. And I’m pretty confident that it motivates everyone else in this dressing room.”
Thompson is likely right about that, but Strome can see the other side of the argument as well.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” he shrugs. “If you look at two years ago, we didn’t score a lot of goals; I think we were 30th or 31st [in the League; they were actually 28th]. Last year, we were second, so I feel like people have a right to question which team we are.
“It’s our job to prove that we’re the team from last year, the team that can score a ton of goals, play great defense, can manage the puck well and manage the game, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Last season, the Caps got off to a strong 7-2-0 start in their October games, this despite dropping their season opener to the New Jersey Devils, who you will recall were playing their fourth game of the young season that night.
We wondered how many games constitute a “start to the season.” Is it five, 10, 15, 20 games? Just the October games? The first month of the season?
“I think it depends on how it’s going; you can probably spin it however way you want,” Strome sagely replies. “I think you want to get out to a good start in the first game; I think it’s obviously important. Last year, we lost, I think it was 5-3 to New Jersey, and they had played four games already, so we were kind of behind the eight-ball.
“I think it’s just about putting our best foot forward in the first game and knowing that it’s a clean slate. Everyone’s on a clean slate no matter what happened last year or the year before, and it’s just about playing hard and playing our systems. I think we’ve got a great team and we have a lot of fun, and that’s going to carry us throughout the season. It’s exciting.”
Blue Collar – Caps defenseman Martin Fehervary skates in his 300th career NHL game tonight on opening night against Boston. In a perfect world, Fehervary would have reached the milestone on the final night of the regular season in Pittsburgh last April, but he suffered a knee injury in Washington’s previous game on Long Island that ended his season and required offseason surgery.
Now fully recovered and signed to a fresh seven-year contract extension that starts with the 2026-27 season, Fehervary is pumped to be a member of the Capitals for the foreseeable future.
“I’m so honored and appreciative that I could sign a long-term deal here,” says Fehervary. “I love it. I love not just the Washington Capitals, but the city, the whole organization, the players, staff and coaches. Everyone here is such great people, and I just love this place so much. I hope I’ll stay here as much as I can.”
Fehervary’s NHL debut came in St. Louis on Oct. 1, 2019, on opening night of the 2019-20 NHL season. He played his first three NHL games as a 19-year-old that week, turning 20 the day after his third game in the League.
“Obviously it was a little bit different feeling than 300,” recalls Fehervary of his debut. “But I was super excited, I was so happy, I was obviously a little bit nervous and stressed, but I enjoyed the first game; it’s only one time. I’m really happy I can be here still and playing the 300, it’s obviously big for me, and I’m excited. It’s the first game of the season as well, and I’m looking forward to getting two points.”
Brand New Start – Caps winger Ryan Leonard signed his first NHL contract on April 1, and he debuted the next night in Boston against the Bruins, as soon as his sophomore season at Boston College was in the books. Leonard turned pro just over six months ago, he just concluded his first NHL training camp, and he is now set to partake in the first opening night of what should be a long and prosperous NHL career.
“I feel like a completely different player out there, honestly,” says Leonard. “I’m feeling so much more confident with and without the puck, and I’m getting back to my actual self. That’s really nice, and being able to start out on day one with these guys – when they were coming in, too – helps out a lot.”
Tonight, Leonard is expected to skate the right side of a line with Anthony Beauvillier on the left and Hendrix Lapierre in the middle. Over the course of Leonard’s nine regular season games and eight playoff games in the NHL last season, he skated just under 20 minutes with Beauvillier; he has yet to take the ice with Lapierre in the NHL. The Caps are hoping that “third line” can generate more offense and be a more stable unit than it was last season.
“They’re great,” says Leonard of his new linemates. “Both of them are super easy to play with and they’re both offensive-minded guys, so it’s very easy for me to play with them out there and to read off of them.”
The youngest player on the Washington roster, Leonard turns 21 in January. He’s pumped for the pomp and circumstance that’s always attached to opening night, but mostly he’s eager to get the first full season of his NHL career underway.
“It’s going to be a very exciting night, and afternoon too, with the red carpet,” says Leonard. “It will be really exciting to be a part of that, and then once game time comes and the puck drop happens, it’s going to be completely different, and you’ve got to shut it off and go play.”
When I Write The Book – The Caps got a couple of looks at the Bruins in the preseason – Boston was responsible for the lone blemish on Washington’s 5-1-0 preseason record – so they have a bit of an idea of how the Bruins are expected to play under first-year head coach Marco Sturm, who was briefly a member of the Capitals a decade and a half ago. Sturm replaces interim head coach Joe Sacco, who spent three seasons playing with the Capitals about a quarter of a century ago.
We wondered this morning whether the Caps seek to establish a “book” or a profile of new coaches in the League, to chart tendencies, habits and the like. And of course they do.
“We definitely do, from a pre-scout standpoint,” says Carbery. “I think from an overall, big picture identity, a little bit, but more so the tendencies inside of their systems. And especially when a new coach comes in, we try to – and our video coaches Emily [Engel-Natzke] and Brett [Leonhardt] do an excellent job of – see what they’ve changed with the new coach, because usually with a new coach, that brings new systems. That takes a little bit of effort to dive in and try to see exactly what they’re trying to do differently.
“And then, just some little things. We know anytime a new coach comes in, you’re probably going to get a highly competitive training camp that has a little more bite to it, a little bit more competitiveness. If you’ve watched any of their press conferences and the narrative coming out of their training camp, it’s exactly that, which is to be expected. So you’ve got to expect a team that is going to be very uncomfortable with the way things went last year, and a new coach coming in is going to set that tone. It’s going to be a real hungry team we’re going to see tonight on home ice.”
In The Nets – Logan Thompson gets his first opening night start as a Caps goaltender on Wednesday night against Boston. Following a sharp preseason in which he played quite well in three appearances and roughly two and a half games, Thompson did what he felt he needed to do in the preseason and he’s ready to roll into 2025-26.
“Since day one of training camp, I felt good, and I felt like I got better every day,” says Thompson. “I thought the games played were positive ones, and I’m ready for the real thing.”
Carbery noted last week – and reiterated this morning – that Thompson’s stellar 2024-25 season has earned him the opportunity to take the reins as the team’s No. 1 netminder this season.
“Logan has earned the opportunity to be our number one guy, and to start on opening night,” says Carbery. “And we’ll see where it goes from there. He’s done a tremendous job, we’ve made a long-term commitment to him; he’s earned that. But we also made a commitment to Charlie Lindgren, and he’s done a fantastic job over the last two years.
“So we’re going to utilize both guys. I’m not going to tell you exactly how the rotation will work, but I know this for certain, in my years and the years that I’ve been in this League and other Leagues, to have two goaltenders that can both arguably be called starters in your league – whatever league that is – you’re feeling pretty good about your situation.”
Following tonight’s season opener against the Bruins, the Caps will take to the road for a weekend set of back-to-back games in the New York metro area – against the Islanders and Rangers, respectively – against fellow Metropolitan Division opponents. Both goaltenders are likely to see action in that tandem of tilts.
All Lined Up – Here’s how we expect the Bruins and the Capitals to look when they take the ice for Wednesday’s season opener at Capital One Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
21-Protas, 17-Strome, 8-Ovechkin
24-McMichael, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
72-Beauvillier, 29-Lapierre, 9-Leonard
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 34-Sourdif
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
38-Sandin, 3-Roy
6-Chychrun, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
2-Iorio
15-Milano
47-Chisholm
Injured
52-McIlrath (lower body)
BOSTON
Forwards
39-Geekie, 28-E. Lindholm, 88-Pastrnak
18-Zacha, 11-Mittestadt, 71-Arvidsson
84-Jeannot, 93-Minten, 81-Eyssimont
92-Khusnutdinov, 52-Kuraly, 47-Kastelic
Defensemen
6-Lohrei, 73-McAvoy
27-H. Lindholm, 26-Peeke
91-Zadorov, 20-Jokiharju
Goalies
1-Swayman
70-Korpisalo
Healthy Extras
19-Beecher
43-Harris
48-Truchon-Viel
Injured
None
