Capital One Arena is in a state of transition inside and out due as the Washington Capitals begin the home portion of their schedule.
Suddenly, so too are the Capitals themselves.
Wednesday’s opener already had plenty of juice with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins descending on the District for one of two meetings in Washington this season.
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“I think the home opener just kind of brings that new — It’s like the start of the year,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said Tuesday. “It’s the optimism of the whole community, our fan base, our players, staff. Like everybody — the game has so many smiles, and it’s like the season is here.”
However, captain Alex Ovechkin’s announcement Monday that this season is his last in the NHL has altered the aura around the Capitals’ schedule. A hopeful march towards a playoff berth in the waning time of Ovechkin’s career is still Washington’s pursuit. It will now come with a season-long goodbye to their captain, both across the Capitals home schedule and likely in most if not all arenas in the league when they’re on the road.
“I do think this year though, obviously going on the road and that, and like the goodbyes and and all of that stuff. But I think our fan base and community also being able to 42 times and hopefully in the playoffs [will get to honor him],” Carbery said.
Ticket prices also reflect Washington’s new reality. Get in prices for Wednesday’s opener on the team’s official Ticketmaster resale page spiked from roughly $500 each to the $700-800 range. And the get-in price for the Caps’ final home game, also against Pittsburgh April 4 — a likely intentional scheduling decision — is now the most expensive regular season NHL game on record according to ticket marketplace TickPick.
“There’s going to be a lot of people that are going to games that it’s the last time this season or year [that they’ll get to see Ovechkin], so whether he scores a goal, whether he starts a game, whatever the case may be, it’ll be a warm, loud reception,” Carbery said.
Coming to spoil the party, and perhaps join in it at the same time, are the Penguins. Pittsburgh was prepared for Ovechkin’s retirement at the end of last season, when stars and contemporaries Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sat out the first of back-to-back home games between the two teams last April in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins had already clinched a playoff spot and both were rested for a final clash with Ovechkin the next day in Washington. Crosby and others joined Ovechkin for pregame photos to commemorate the moment, and Ovechkin even left his left wing spot to take the opening faceoff against Crosby.
“It’s that uniqueness of two generational players coming in at basically the same time, and how rare that is in all of sports,” Carbery said. “And then to have them as division rivals, and then have the Washington-PIT thing, that just helped the game so much and drew so many fans and eyeballs to every time they would go up against each other.”
Now, the two longtime faces of the league, both in their 22nd seasons, have at least four more guaranteed matchups, starting with No. 102 on Wednesday.
“I’m sure they’re going to do a 30-for-30 on it, of what that rivalry has done for the sport and where our sport is now. The National Hockey League, for a bunch of different reasons [is successful], but they have a significant role in why the NHL is where it is, and it continues to grow and flourish.”
For those who’ve seen hockey’s version of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird up close, like Capitals forward Tom Wilson has for most of his career, it never gets old.
“It starts with those two guys,” Wilson said. “In the same division, playing each other every year and in the playoffs. Leading the league in goals, points. Captains, legends. They’ve been going toe-to-toe for years, and it’s been really fun to have a front-row seat for that.”
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