Ovechkin, Capitals to open 2025-26 season at home against Bruins on Oct. 8

Hockey is coming. The Washington Capitals announced Wednesday that they will open the 2025-26 season at home against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 8. The game will be the first national broadcast of the season for TNT.

Captain Alex Ovechkin will then return to the site of his record-breaking goal from last season as Washington visits New York to face the Islanders on Oct. 11. 

The upcoming season could be the last for Ovechkin, whose contract expires next summer. The 39-year-old said for a long time that he would play out the final year of his deal before returning to his native Russia to play for the KHL’s Moscow Dynamo.

Yet since breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record in April, Ovechkin claims he hasn’t decided whether he’ll follow through on that plan. 

If the upcoming season is his last as a Capital, Ovechkin’s final regular-season game in the District will feature the rival Pittsburgh Penguins on April 12. Washington ends its 82-game regular season on April 14 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. 

The Capitals’ schedule features three four-game homestands and a six-game road trip from Jan. 19 to Jan. 29. Washington will play 14 sets of back-to-backs. 

Washington and the rest of the NHL will enjoy an extended midseason break from Feb. 6 through Feb. 22 as many of the league’s players head to Milan, Italy, for the 2026 Olympics.