The Washington Capitals announced their 2021-22 preseason schedule on Thursday and there’s one notable change from year’s past.

The slate of preseason games will be starting a few weeks later than usual, which will push the start of the NHL regular season into mid-October.

The Capitals will play six games against three East Coast opponents: the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. The Caps will play three games at home and three games on the road.

With the Caps’ preseason running from September 26 through October 8, the NHL’s regular season should begin days later.

“We’ll be starting in the first half of October,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said. “It won’t be on the first. It’ll probably be in the double digits but in the first half.”

Once a decision on NHL participation in the Olympics is made, the full regular season schedule will be completed and released to the public.

Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:

Capitals Announce 2021-22 Preseason Schedule

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have released their 2021-22 preseason schedule, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. The schedule will feature six games against three opponents and will include three games at Capital One Arena.

The Capitals will open their preseason schedule against the Boston Bruins on Sept. 26 at Capital One Arena, which will start a two-game preseason homestand that will additionally feature the New Jersey Devils on Sept. 29. Washington will then face the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 2 to kick off a three-game road trip that concludes on Oct. 6 against Boston at TD Garden. The Capitals will then return to Capital One Arena to host Philadelphia on Oct. 8 to conclude their preseason.

The Capitals did not play a preseason game during the 2020-21 season, but were 5-1-0 in the preseason in 2019-20. Washington’s all-time preseason record is 170-128-33-16.

The full preseason broadcast schedule and the complete 2021-22 NHL regular season schedule will be released at a later date.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB