Spencer Carbery talks about his philosophy on how he will deal with the final game of pre-season and the final squad cuts

The Washington Capitals will start the 2024-25 season significantly later than most teams in the NHL. They will host their opening night against the New Jersey Devils on October 12th, eight days after the official start of the regular season.

For comparison: The Devils are playing their fourth game of the season when they visit the Capital One Arena. However, this presents a unique challenge for the head coach Spencer Carbery and his team, the second-year bench boss is preparing to use the additional free time to make important, final roster decisions before the big games begin.

“We've got some time here – we'll go home and practice and then the game in Boston and then a whole week before we open,” Carbery said Thursday. “So we have a pretty good idea of ​​what things are going to look like from Strome's line to Dubois, Dowd and our D-pairs, but there's also a little bit of runway here (to determine) what our opening lineup and jockeying looks like. “ for these 23 places. We will get clarity in the next three or four days.”

The final preseason game is usually a dress rehearsal for the season opener, but Carbery says he could use the game against the Boston Bruins to place some of his veterans in favor of bubble players who are still fighting for a spot on the roster. This group includes forwards Jakub Vrana, Andrew Cristall, Ivan Miroshnichenko and Mike Sgarbossa, as well as defenders Dylan McIlrath, Alex Alexeyev and Ethan Bear.

After the game against the Bruins, the Capitals have a week before dropping the puck against the Devils. The time in between may make the Capitals' final exhibition game less important for chemistry between players and more important for roster evaluation.

“If you were playing (a regular-season game) on Tuesday or Wednesday, you might really want to go to the dress rehearsal and get everyone together,” Carbery said.

Teams must submit their Opening Day rosters by October 7th at 5:00 p.m. ET. Washington is down to 28 healthy players after 2024 first-round pick Terik Parascak returned to the WHL's Prince George Cougars on Tuesday.

NHL teams can carry a maximum of 23 active players during the regular season, so the Capitals must make at least five more cuts by Monday. Carbery says so

Three of Washington's forwards and all of their defensive pairings appear primed for the start of the season, with only the third line remaining undetermined. Allowing one of those strikers who is still in the squad bubble another game with that line could help Carbery and his staff choose one player over another.

“We went back and forth,” Carbery said. “I mean, there are two schools of thought, right? I don't believe there is a right and a wrong. It's simply whatever makes the most sense for your individual or team scenario.

“One side of the coin is you just dress your opening night squad or your opening night lineup and try to get as many minutes as possible, 60 minutes of them playing together, getting comfortable with each other, and then the other side. “The key point is that you have to see some players to make decisions.”

The Capitals have been practicing in Columbus, Ohio for the past few days while also conducting some team building activities in the area. Washington will return home Friday for practice, the last through next week at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Carbery decided to give his team some rare on-court practice time at Capital One Arena.

Washington hosts its home practices and morning skates almost exclusively at MedStar, but the late start to the season has allowed them to get more creative.

“It was just something I thought about during the long week-long break before opening to practice and work on special teams down there,” Carbery said. “The only representatives we get at Capital One are gaming representatives. I think the quicker and more familiar (the better), especially with the new people, they can get acquainted with the sights, the sounds, the ice, the glass, the sight lines and everything that is Capital One.

“I don't think it's the be-all and end-all, but I think there could be some additional benefits to putting people there for two days. So I thought the preseason week was an opportunity to do that and we’ll go there and play and practice for a few days.”