How the Capitals are coping with a condensed camp and challenging first game

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Twenty-five teams will have played their first game before the first puck drop of the Washington Capitals season Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Their opponents, the Carolina Hurricanes, are the reigning Stanley Cup champions — and they’re coming off a season-opening overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.

There’s a lot to be nervous about: the quality of the opponent, the fire in the Hurricanes’ bellies fanned by their 1-0 loss and the Capitals’ own rust.

“Everyone knows it’s not going to be easy,” assistant captain Tom Wilson said. “Once you settle on that, you go in there and try to take as many points as you can, try to win the game. ... If you drew it up, it wouldn’t be the most ideal situation to start in.”

This is also an unprecedented buildup: Under the new collective bargaining agreement, training camp was condensed by a week and the preseason was shortened to four games.

But by watching the games, including the postgame interviews, that preceded the 2026-27 Capitals debut, coach Spencer Carbery hopes to avoid some of the other teams’ mistakes.

“I’ve been watching, and all the coaches are talking about the same stuff, and it’s trial by error, right?” Carbery said. “Because no one has ever gone through a training camp like this and prepared a team. ... So, yeah, I’ve been trying to watch the games and see if there’s little tidbits of advice.”

His next opponent, perhaps inadvertently, gave him some of the best advice. Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour talked about how quickly the players are now called upon to transition from training camp speed to game speed. Some of the bubble players may have played hard to make their way onto the roster, but veterans’ participation is even more limited by the new CBA.

“Rod made a good point about just the execution of your skill guys,” Carbery said. “You’re going to get into situations, whether it’s a power play, whether it’s an odd-man rush, whether it’s a two-on-one, whether it’s a breakaway, like let’s see if we can keep it simple in those situations and make sure that we’re executing maybe the easier decision in that spot.”

The Capitals are loaded with experience. Their average number of seasons played is seven (although if you take out Alex Ovechkin, whose 21 years are an outlier, it drops to six).

But they have new names across three lines and one defensive pairing.

Forward Alex Tuch, who came from the Buffalo Sabres in a sign-and-trade, has been lining up at left wing on the second line. Jordan Kyrou, acquired in June via trade with the St. Louis Blues, is currently on the right side of the third line. His line also features Ilya Protas, who made his NHL debut at the end of last season.

The fourth line features former Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner. And Cole Hutson, who also debuted at the end of last season, is on the second defense pairing.

Carbery said the Capitals tried to force chemistry by keeping the lines and pairings as steady as possible through camp.

Some are further ahead than others, Carbery said, and they’re all aware things might change “once it starts flying for real.”

Although the season’s puck drop for the Caps has been delayed, they jump right into the season with back-to-back games. After taking on the Hurricanes, they head to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning — and longtime Capital John Carlson.

“I know he’s not going to take it easy on us, and we’re not going to take it easy on him,” Wilson said. “It will be funny. I’m sure there will be some laughs. He’s like family to a lot of guys in this room.”

The Capitals will return home Wednesday to play their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.