Here's what to know as the Capitals open their season against the Devils.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals' 2024-25 season is finally here, as the team officially opens the campaign on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils after a long week of waiting.
Head coach Spencer Carbery and his team had an optional dress rehearsal on Saturday morning, running through drills one more time before the real thing. Alex Ovechkin opted to take the morning off, resting ahead of the start of his 20th NHL season.
Washington's lineup is set, as Charlie Lindgren will get the start while Sonny Milano gets the first crack at the third-line left-wing role over Jakub Vrana. Dylan McIlrath and Alex Alexeyev are the other scratches.
Here are the lines for the opener:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Andrew Mangiapane
Connor McMichael-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano-Hendrix Lapierre-Aliaksei Protas
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Taylor Raddysh
Jakob Chychrun-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson
Power Play 1: Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tom Wilson
Power Play 2: Jakob Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin, Connor McMichael, Andrew Mangiapane, Hendrix Lapierre
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.
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- Dylan McIlrath reflects on making an NHL opening night roster for the first time in 8 years
- Why the Capitals sent Andrew Cristall back to juniors
- Jakub Vrana signs one-year contract, full opening night roster
- Capitals & Carbery happy to have Vrana back in the mix, excited to work with forward again
- Alex Ovechkin discusses why scoring has become so much more difficult in today's game, not stressing over Wayne Gretzky's record