Hockey returns! Here's what to know ahead of the Washington Capitals home opener

WASHINGTON (7News) — The Washington Capitals are conducting an Opening Night Scavenger Hunt leading up to the team’s season opener at Capital One Arena on Friday vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Fans are being challenged to make stops at different Washington, D.C. landmarks and upload photos of themselves in their Caps gear at each location for a chance to win prizes.

The Caps enter the 2023-2024 season looking to make the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons and the 33rd time in franchise history. The Capitals have reached the postseason in 14 of the last 16 seasons. Despite missing the playoffs for the first time in nine years last season, the Capitals own the NHL’s eighth-best record since 2017-2018.

The team will arrive in style Friday by walking the red carpet on F Street beginning at approximately 4 p.m. Players will greet fans, sign autographs and pose for pictures. Players will be then escorted down the red carpet by pre-selected fans from across the Washington, D.C. region.

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Capitals mascot Slapshot, alumni and other Capitals personalities will also walk the red carpet and spend time with fans. All fans in attendance Friday will receive a 2023-2024 schedule magnet and light stick.

Watch a timelapse of ice being installed at Capital One Arena:

In addition, five Fort Dupont Ice Arena Kids On Ice participants will be present on the Capitals Red Carpet during player arrivals and will walk the Capitals red carpet themselves in honor of the Capitals and Monumental Sports and Entertainment Foundation kicking off the 2023-2024 season by designating $500,000 to Kids On Ice.

The funds were raised through MSE founder Ted Leonsis, MSE Foundation, the NHL and hundreds of Capitals fans through a GoFundMe set up in 2019.

The original intent of the donation was for rink renovations; however, with the District now fully funding the construction of a new arena, the funds will now be used to support the Kids On Ice program.

Kids On Ice provides children with a variety of classes, including Learn to Skate USA, hockey, figure skating, synchronized skating, and speed skating, regardless of their ability to pay. Approximately 2,500 D.C. public and charter school children participate in Kids On Ice annually, and there have been hundreds of minority hockey players introduced to the sport through the program.

So what else is at stake this season? Well for starters, with 822 career goals, Alex Ovechkin needs 73 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky for first on the NHL’s all-time goals list.

Ovechkin also enters the season 15 points shy of 1,500 career points, 53 games shy of 1,400 career games, and one power-play goal shy of 300 career power-play goals. 2023-2024 will be Ovechkin’s 19th season with the Capitals. Ovechkin, who made his Capitals and NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, is D.C.’s longest-tenured athlete.

John Carlson enters the season 73 games shy of 1,000 career games and could become the third player in franchise history to play 1,000 games with the Caps, joining Ovi and Nicklas Backstrom.

Veterans Backstrom and Carlson, who are entering their 17th and 15th seasons with Washington, respectively, are D.C.’s second and third-longest tenured athletes behind Ovechkin.

Among each of D.C.’s professional teams, the longest-tenured players are Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals: 13 seasons), Tress Way (Washington Commanders: 10 seasons), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United: 10 seasons), Tori Huster (Washington Spirit: 9 seasons), Natasha Cloud (Washington Mystics: 8 seasons) and Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards: 3 seasons). Goaltender Darcy Kuemper returns between the pipes for his second season in Washington. Kuemper appeared in 57 games for the Capitals in 2022-23, which tied his single-season career high in games played (2021-22: 57 GP). Center Dylan Strome, 26, will look to build upon a career year after setting career highs in games played (81), goals (23), assists (42) and points (65) in his first season with the Capitals in 2022-2023. T.J. Oshie returns for his ninth season with the Capitals, needing 42 more games to reach the 1,000-game mark.

Spencer Carbery enters his first season as head coach of the Capitals. Carbery, the youngest head coach in the NHL at 41, spent five seasons as head coach and director of hockey operations for the South Carolina Stingrays from 2011 to 2016, with the Stingrays serving as the Capitals' ECHL affiliate in Carbery's final two seasons in South Carolina.

Carbery compiled a record of 207-115-38, leading the Stingrays to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of his five seasons. In addition, Carbery served as head coach of Washington's AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears for three seasons from 2018 to 2021.