How to watch Washington Capitals games: streaming and cable

TV or Streaming?

You can watch the Caps in two ways – through your traditional TV provider like cable or satellite, or streaming over the internet.

Keep in mind: even if you’re streaming over the internet, you can still usually watch the game on your actual physical TV screen.

How you watch the game depends on three factors: who is covering the game, what methods are available to you, and what devices you have. This flow chart will get us started.

Monumental Sports Network is the home of the Capitals

Monumental Sports Network is owned by Monumental Sports, the ownership group of the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics, Capital One Arena, and more. The ownership group is run by Dippin’ Dots hater Ted Leonsis, and the network is run by his son Zach Leonsis. As the primary rightsholder for the Caps, Monumental is the place for the vast majority of Caps games.

Watching Monumental on cable

Most people will watch Monumental using their cable box or dish TV provider. There are a bunch of different providers, but – as cable companies flirt with non-competition accusations, most areas only have one viable option.

Monumental Sports Network may not be on your cable plan

Cable companies offer different tiers of service. For a long time, Monumental was on the standard plans, but now – at least on Comcast Xfinity in Frederick, MD – it is now only available on the Ultimate TV plan.

This is the most expensive tier, costing $140 a month unless you get a deal.

What is Monumental Sports Network 2?

Ah, you noticed that too. Monumental Sports Network actually has two channels – the main one, and an overflow channel. Caps games air on Monumental 2 only when another game, usually the Wizards, gets priority on the main channel. It generally happens only a few times a year.

If you tune in to Monumental, and the game is supposed to be on, but instead you see people doing a sport on a hardwood floor instead of ice and in sick sneakers instead of knife-boots, you may need to switch to the other channel.

It appears not all providers offer Monumental 2. Don’t worry – there are still more options below.

Some games are national exclusives

The NHL will sometimes sell the rights to individual Caps games to national rightsholders. In 2025-26, they’re doing it a lot.

The Washington Capitals will be on national TV a league-high 18 times this season

Some of these games will be national exclusives, which is when the big network pays extra to take a local option away from you. But not all national games are exclusive, so you often can still find it on Monumental. If not, there are instructions below.

How to get Monumental Sports Network (2 ways)

If you already have a TV provider like cable

If you get Monumental Sports Network through your cable plan, then you can stream Monumental too.

You’ll have to log in to the Monumental website or app using your TV provider, which can be a pain, but it won’t cost you extra. When you land on the Monumental Sports Network website, you’ll see this bar along the top.

The box I highlighted in pink at right is the one you want. Select that and you’ll authenticate using your TV provider. You may have to enter your username and password for that provider, but sometimes the system is smart and will detect it automatically based on your home network.

In my experience, you have to re-authenticate with your TV provider pretty often, which is a bother.

If you don’t have a TV provider

Then you’ll use the direct-to-consumer (DTC) option. You will subscribe directly to Monumental. They have monthly and annual plans, so you’ll have to pick one. I have the annual plan. It costs $180 per year.

In this setup, you’ll create your own account with Monumental. You can use your Google or Apple account, which is convenient, or  you can make your own username and password with Monumental.

If you use your own account, instead of asking for a password, Monumental may just send a short numeric code to your email address. Copy it onto the webpage and you’re in. It’s convenient, but make sure you’ve got handy access to your email through your nearby phone or computer.

If you subscribe directly to Monumental, while you won’t be able to watch through your cable provider, you can still watch on your TV. I’ll tell you how in a minute. First, the traditional route.

How to watch Monumental Sports Network on cable or satellite

AKA, how everyone on the planet did it up until a few years ago.

First, figure out if you use Comcast Xfinity, Verizon FiOS, DirectTV, or another provider.

1. Turn on your TV and/or cable box.
2. Turn to Monumental channel. See the table below for channel numbers.
   1. Or, instead of channel numbers, some people like to use the “Guide” feature on their TVs. You can filter by sports and usually find your game quickly, but I think TVs are kinda sluggish.
   2. If you have a voice remote, you can be like Jean Luc Picard. Hold down the button and say “Channel (whatever number from the table below)” or “Monumental Sports Network” and it’ll figure out the rest.
3. That’s it. It was really easy.

A professional tip from me is to “star” or “favorite” the channel, which could give you (or your grandma) a shortcut to get back to it faster in the future. Or you could be like me and literally never watch any other channel, so it’s always on every time you turn on the TV.

Monumental Sports Network channels based on your provider

There are standard definition (SD) options as well, but these channels have lower quality, so use the high definition (HD) ones if you can.

Monumental has other traditional cable providers, but I’ve never heard of them. Let us know about them, and we’ll share whatever useful info we can. And please let us know if your channels are different than the table above; these are very difficult to find on the public internet.

Streaming the Caps on Monumental

If you don’t have a traditional TV provider – or if you don’t have access to it because your cable box isn’t working or because you’re on the road – you can still watch Caps games by streaming them over the internet. You will need a subscription to Monumental Plus. Fun fact: Season ticket holders get a Monumental Plus subscription automatically.

Keep in mind: you’ll need a decent internet connection for everything below.

All the ways to stream Monumental

• Laptop or desktop computer, through the website
• Apple devices – iPhone or iPad app
• Android devices
• Apple TV
• Chromecast
• DirecTV Gemini
• Fire Stick
• Samsung
• Google TVs

We’ll give details on as many as we can.

Remember: You can use these options whether you subscribe through a traditional TV provider like cable OR if you’re a direct-to-consumer Monumental subscriber.

Monumental is NOT available on YouTube TV and Hulu

As of October 2025, Monumental Sports Network is no longer carried by YouTube TV and Hulu. It’s a whole thing.

Monumental has geographic restrictions

You need to live in the region to be able to stream Monumental Sports Network. 150-mile radius of Washington, DC. If you’re out west, outside central Pennsylvania, or down by Virginia Beach, it’s iffy if you can watch. This restriction also applies to DirecTV subscribers.

How to watch Monumental on iOS (iPhone, iPad)

1. Find the App Store. It’s a blue icon with an A.
2. Select Search
3. Enter Monumental
4. Tap Get.
5. The app will download.
6. Tap Open.
7. Follow the instructions to log in.

How to watch Monumental on your computer

1. Open your web browser – e.g. Chrome, Safari
2. In your address bar, enter https://monumentalsportsnetwork.com/ – or just search for “Monumental Sports Network”
3. Follow the instructions and log in.

When watching on your computer, you’ll generally need a setting in your browser called “Hardware Acceleration” turned on. This setting enables DRM (digital rights management). It is evil and generally mandatory. It is on by default, but if you run into trouble, you may have to flip it on.

Find your browsers settings screen; you’ll have to pick it from a menu, generally from the top right. Most settings screens will have a search function. Type in “acceleration” and you’ll see something like “Use graphics acceleration when available.” Make sure that’s on. You may have to restart your browser.

How to watch Monumental on Android devices

1. Open the Google Play Store app. It’s a colorful arrow pointing to the right.
2. Select search.
3. Enter Monumental.
4. Select app with the red M icon.
5. Choose Install.
6. Follow the instructions to log in.

How to watch Monumental on Chromecast

Chromecast allows you to stream a video from one device to another. For example, on your desktop computer, you load the Monumental Sports Network website from your Chrome browser, then stream the video from your computer to your TV.

This is a finicky setup. It requires both devices stay on and connected to the internet. It requires both devices be compatible with Chromecast. If your TV is a “Google TV,” then you’re in good shape. If not, you may need a Chromecast HDMI dongle or Google TV Streamer device connected to your TV in the same way you would a bluray player or video game console.

1. Make sure your sending device (computer) is on and connected.
2. Make sure your receiving device (TV, usually) is on and connected.
3. Using the steps above, log into Monumental and play a video.
4. You should see a Cast icon at top right of the toolbar. (See image below)
5. Select the icon.
6. From the list of the devices, find your receiving device – probably your TV.
7. Hit cast.
8. Pray it works.

How to watch Monumental on Roku

If you have it, Roku is either the operating system behind your TV or a device plugged into your TV. If it’s the latter, you just need to switch your input to the Roku device. The rest of the steps will be the same.

1. On your controller, press left and then down until you find Settings.
2. Search for Monumental.
3. Find the red icon with an M.
4. Select install.
5. Open the app and follow the instructions.

Other streaming platforms

You can also watch from Apple TV, DirecTV Gemini, Fire Stick, Samsung, and X1. We will update this guide with more information soon.

Watching Caps games on national coverage

When national networks buy exclusivity for a Caps game, they will be the only place you can watch. This only happens a few times a year – for example on Tuesday, October 28, when the Capitals play in Dallas against the Stars. That game is available on ESPN only, though broadcasting situations change all the time.

The most common national coverage options are:

• TNT
• HBO Max
• ESPN
• ESPN+
• ABC
• Hulu

For ABC, TNT, and ESPN, most cable packages should carry those channels, so you can watch from your TV like normal. If you have a subscription – either through your TV provider or to the network directly – you may also watch from a web browser on your computer. This is handy when you’re travelling.

• Watch TNT
• Watch ABC
• Watch ESPN

But a game may be unavailable on those websites if the game is non-exclusive, meaning it could also be seen on a local channel.

Now, if a game is on ESPN+, HBO Max, or Hulu, you’re probably going to have to watch online – either through your browser or your TV, if your TV has the app for the network.