Capitals Schedule December 2026: 14 Games, Nine on the Road

The Washington Capitals play 14 games in December 2026, five at Capital One Arena and nine on the road, with the first on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), according to the National Hockey League (NHL) club schedule. Vancouver is the opponent in that opener.

The source is the NHL’s club schedule feed for Washington, read Nov. 11, 2026. It gives each start in UTC; we converted the times to ET, which is Washington time, and calculated the weekdays. Broadcasters come from the same feed and can change. A one-page printable follows the table.

Capitals game times and TV for all 14 December games

Monumental Sports Network is the Capitals’ U.S. channel in the feed (the feed lists a second channel, MNMT2, for two games). Sportsnet and Télé-Diffuseurs Associés (TVA) Sports are Canadian networks. “Regional channel” is a local outlet the feed lists under a short code, and for the Colorado and Islanders games it includes the home team’s broadcasters.

Date	Game	Venue	Time (ET)	TV in the U.S.	TV in Canada
Tue., Dec. 1	Canucks at Capitals	Capital One Arena	7 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet Pacific
Thu., Dec. 3	Capitals at Oilers	Rogers Place	8 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Sat., Dec. 5	Capitals at Flames	Scotiabank Saddledome	3:30 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Mon., Dec. 7	Capitals at Canucks	Rogers Arena	9 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet+, TVA Sports
Thu., Dec. 10	Capitals at Kraken	Climate Pledge Arena	9:30 p.m.	ESPN	Sportsnet+, TVA Sports
Sat., Dec. 12	Capitals at Avalanche	Ball Arena	9 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network, regional channels	TVA Sports
Tue., Dec. 15	Capitals at Stars	American Airlines Center	9:30 p.m.	Turner Network Television (TNT), truTV, HBO Max; Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet 360, TVA Sports
Thu., Dec. 17	Red Wings at Capitals	Capital One Arena	7 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network, regional channel	None listed
Sat., Dec. 19	Blues at Capitals	Capital One Arena	7 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network, regional channels	None listed
Mon., Dec. 21	Capitals at Maple Leafs	Scotiabank Arena	2 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet+
Sat., Dec. 26	Blue Jackets at Capitals	Capital One Arena	8 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network, regional channels	None listed
Mon., Dec. 28	Oilers at Capitals	Capital One Arena	7 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network	Sportsnet+, TVA Sports
Wed., Dec. 30	Capitals at Islanders	UBS Arena	4 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network, the Islanders’ home broadcaster	Sportsnet+
Thu., Dec. 31	Capitals at Blue Jackets	Nationwide Arena	2 p.m.	Monumental Sports Network, regional channels	None listed

The Dec. 21 time differs between sources: the Capitals’ July 16 schedule release listed the Toronto game at 1 p.m., and the current NHL feed lists 2 p.m. ET (19:00 UTC). The table and printable use the feed. Check NHL.com before game day.

Which Capitals games are on national TV in December?

The Capitals’ national TV schedule, published Aug. 26, 2026, lists Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Seattle Kraken (9:30 p.m., ESPN) and Tuesday, Dec. 15, at the Dallas Stars (9:30 p.m., TNT). It says the season’s broadcast schedule “includes eight games on TNT, four games on ESPN and two games on ABC.” The Kraken’s release the same day moved the Dec. 10 start from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, which is 9:30 p.m. ET. The Dec. 15 game is also on truTV and HBO Max in the feed.

The six-game western road trip

The feed shows the Capitals away for six games in a row, Dec. 3 to Dec. 15, with one stop in each of six cities:

• Thu., Dec. 3: Edmonton, 8 p.m. ET
• Sat., Dec. 5: Calgary, 3:30 p.m. ET
• Mon., Dec. 7: Vancouver, 9 p.m. ET
• Thu., Dec. 10: Seattle, 9:30 p.m. ET
• Sat., Dec. 12: Denver, 9 p.m. ET
• Tue., Dec. 15: Dallas, 9:30 p.m. ET

Five of the six starts are at 8 p.m. ET or later. The only afternoon start is Calgary. Washington returns home Thursday, Dec. 17, against Detroit. Our counts from the feed also show the Capitals play Edmonton twice in the month, away on Dec. 3 and at home on Dec. 28, and play the Maple Leafs on Dec. 21, covered in our Maple Leafs December schedule and the Oilers December schedule.

Capitals dates around Christmas and New Year’s Eve

The Capitals have no game from Dec. 22 to Dec. 25. They play at home Saturday, Dec. 26, at 8 p.m. ET and Monday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m. ET, then travel for two afternoon games: Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the New York Islanders at 4 p.m. and Thursday, Dec. 31, at the Columbus Blue Jackets at 2 p.m. The Capitals’ July release confirms both of those times. Another U.S. team’s month is in our Penguins December schedule.

When do the Capitals play after December?

The first January game is Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, Ottawa at Washington, 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena, per the NHL feed for January. Tickets are listed on the team’s NHL.com tickets page; prices are not part of the schedule feed.

Is there a printable Capitals schedule for December 2026?

Yes, and it is free. The one-page sheet lists all 14 games with home or away, ET start time, TV and a result box. Keep it beside the December 2026 printable calendar, copy the games into a printable weekly calendar or look ahead on the January 2027 calendar.

Confirm puck drop and channel on NHL.com before game day. Results and line-ups are not part of the schedule feed and are not covered here.