Capitals Featured in League-Leading 18 National TV Broadcasts in 2025-26 – The Hockey Writers – Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals will be presented on national television a league-leading 18 times during the 2025-26 NHL season. Capital One Arena will host seven regular-season contests, including the only home date against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 12, 2026. That game will be part of a national broadcasting package showcasing six of the Capitals’ final seven regular-season games as the league prepares for the potential end of Alex Ovechkin’s NHL career. 

Capitals National TV Schedule Breakdown

Overall, Washington will appear in eight games on TNT, four contests on ESPN, and three matchups on ABC. ESPN+/Hulu will have the exclusive broadcasting rights for three Capitals road games this season – Nov. 6 at Pittsburgh, Jan. 29 at the Detroit Red Wings, and April 2 at the New Jersey Devils. 

Marquee battles between Washington, the Eastern Conference’s top team by record in the 2024-25 season, and the best teams from the Western Conference will be showcased by the NHL’s television partners. An early-season matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 19 will be the first battleground. Seven weeks later, the Capitals battle the Dallas Stars at Capital One Arena on Jan. 7 for another prime-time matchup on TNT. Washington begins a six-game road trip with a nationally televised contest against another tough competitor from the West, the Colorado Avalanche, on Jan. 19, also on TNT.

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All three games against Pittsburgh will be televised nationally in the 2025-26 season. That ESPN+/Hulu game in early November is the only contest in the 2025 calendar year. A late-season home-and-home against the Penguins occurs over the weekend of April 11-12. Pittsburgh hosts a 3 p.m. afternoon contest at PPG Paints Arena before the scene shifts to Capital One Arena to wrap up the season series in Game 81 of the NHL campaign. 

Capitals’ April Heavily Featured by TV Partners

Starting on April 2 in New Jersey, nearly every game of Washington’s schedule in April will be shown on ESPN, ABC, and/or TNT.  The second game of the month is a home game against the Buffalo Sabres on April 4, which will be carried on regional television channels. Otherwise, a five-game span from April 5 through April 14 will be shown to a national audience, starting with the possibility of Ovechkin’s last regular-season skate at Madison Square Garden.

If the 2025-26 season is his final NHL season, Ovechkin’s final regular-season game in Canada is scheduled to occur at the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 8. That contest, which is Game 79 of the regular season, will be carried on TNT.

Game Time Adjustments to Capitals’ Schedule

Due to the announcement of the NHL’s TV schedule, one home game in Washington has encountered a time change from its previously announced schedule: Dec. 23 against the New York Rangers has shifted from a 6:30 p.m. start time to 7 p.m.

All three of the ESPN+/Hulu exclusive games have had their start times adjusted from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to accommodate the ESPN broadcast window. 

Washington’s National TV Schedule in 2025-26

With 18 games on the broadcast schedule, the NHL’s TV partners will broadcast over 20% of the Capitals’ 2025-26 schedule. With Pittsburgh as the only duplicate opponent on the schedule, the league and its partners will have fresh Capitals matchups to provide to viewers throughout the 2025-26 campaign. If Washington can approach the 50-win mark like they did in 2024-25, it should provide an entertaining product for the entire hockey world to watch.