2023 Stadium Series: Capitals Schedule, Rink View, Gear & Everything To Know

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are ready to relive their pond hockey days this weekend, as they will head down to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2023 Stadium Series on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Here is everything to know, including the Capitals' schedule during their time in North Carolina, what the rink is looking like and the process of getting the ice ready, a closer look at the uniforms and goalie setups, key stats and more going into the weekend.

Washington Capitals Stadium Series Schedule

Following a Thursday night game against the Florida Panthers at Capital One Arena, Washington will head to Raleigh and get a chance to practice on the outdoor rink before the big game, as the players will take the ice for a 45-minute practice at 6 p.m. ET following the Hurricanes' 4 p.m. ET skate. After that, the Capitals will skate with family and friends in attendance.

On Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. ET, Washington will start off-ice warmups and team meetings ahead of the game at 8 p.m. ET.

Progress On The Stadium Series Rink & What It'll Look Like For the Game, Forecast

The rink has been in the making for a bit now, and the staff is putting the finishing touches on the 200-foot ice surface on top of the NC State football field this week. The game is sold-out, and there will be the opportunity for fans to watch from the field for the first time.

Soon. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/iWAib2wCB9

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) February 13, 2023

Crew members covered the turf with panels before building the rink on top. The ice is set, with the resurfaced already at work. There are still some finishing touches, including the paint, the field decorations and more that will be done before the weekend.

Here is the final rendering of what the stadium and rink will look like at puck drop, courtesy of the National Hockey League.

Rendering Credit: NHL/Infinite Scale Design Group/Populous

As for the weather, it will be raining pretty steadily on Friday morning before turning mostly clear at night, so the Capitals should be in the clear for practice. For Saturday night, the temperature will be in the 30s with partly cloudy skies.

Washington Capitals Stadium Series Uniforms

For the first time in franchise history, the team's secondary logo, the "Weagle," will be featured on the front of the Capitals' jerseys. The sweater is white, and the logo colors are navy and white. The oversized Weagle on the front has its wings extend into the blue arm stripes. Also, the neck features two red hockey lace bars underneath to represent the D.C. flag, and the inside collar features the "Washington" wordmark with the "W" being the team's third logo. The numbers will be blue.

Photo courtesy of the Washington Capitals

Washington is wearing blue helmets that will feature the team's 2018 Stadium Series "Caps" wordmark logo on one side with oversized white numbers on the other. As for the gloves, they will be navy with red cuffs. The pants will be navy with white stars on the side, worn with white, red and blue socks.

The Capitals will wear these jerseys for the Stadium Series and wear them one more time at home on Feb. 21 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Darcy Kuemper & Charlie Lindgren's Stadium Series Gear

Both Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren also have custom goalie setups for the occasion.

Kuemper's pads are white and navy, featuring both halves of the Weagle wings that meet when the pads are together, and the wings are also on his blocker and glove.

His helmet features the three stars on the top, fighter jets and the D.C. landscape and the Weagle on the sides and his number "35" on the chin. His backplate says "for those I love" and features a cross and ribbon.

Photos courtesy of the Washington Capitals

As for Lindgren, he is not going with his usual icebergs for the game. He is instead paying tribute to Henrik Lundqvist with his pads, which are almost identical to what "the King" would've worn had he suited up for the Capitals. Lundqvist did not get to play a game for Washington due to a heart condition that led him to retire. The pads feature both halves of the Capitol building and Weagle that come together with the pads, along with three stars on each side at the bottom. The blocker features the same logo, and the glove is white.

Lindgren's mask features his usual Iceberg design with Stadium Series undertones, his "Lindy" wordmark on the bottom and his deep "lion" quote on the backplate.

PHOTOS BY SAMMI SILBER/WASHINGTON HOCKEY NOW. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Washington Capitals Updates & Key Stats

The Capitals have played outside three times: the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field, the 2015 Winter Classic at Nationals Park and the 2018 Stadium Series at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the U.S. Naval Academy. They are 3-0-0 in outdoor games and have outscored their opponents 11-5.

Alex Ovechkin will likely miss Saturday's festivities as he is away from the team to attend to family matters/the health of a loved one. He will be out for the "foreseeable future."

Nicklas Backstrom leads all Washington skaters in scoring when playing outside with four points (1G, 3A) through those three games. Ovechkin and Anthony Mantha lead the Capitals in goals outdoors with two apiece. Mantha struck twice in the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic for the Red Wings in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fell 5-2 to Washington a year later in the Stadium Series game in Annapolis.

Evgeny Kuznetsov has the fastest game-opening goal in the team's outdoor history, scoring 3:50 minutes into the 2018 contest on the power play. And a fun fact: former Washington defenseman Michal Kempny has the third fastest outdoor goal in NHL history after scoring 62 seconds in for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues.

This game will mark the Hurricanes' first-ever outdoor game. They were originally supposed to play this game back on Feb. 20, 2021, but it was postponed due to COVID-19.