For years, the Capitals have worked to build fan interest in the District and its immediate suburbs, a difficult task at times in a city where hockey has long taken a back seat to other professional sports. But the unprecedented regular-season success of recent seasons is allowing Washington to branch out to other parts of the region. On Tuesday, the Caps will play the Nashville Predators in a preseason game at Baltimore Arena. The event — dubbed the Baltimore Hockey Classic — allows the organization to capitalize on its increasing popularity in Baltimore, where rising television ratings and merchandise and ticket sales present an opportunity for growth.
“The objective is to be able to perform live in front of people that are supporting us,” Caps general manager George McPhee told reporters last week. “Our television ratings and fan interest in Baltimore are really strong. … Obviously, we’re sold out for every game this year [at Verizon Center], and now we can go up to Baltimore on a Tuesday night in preseason against a nonconference team and sell [another] building out.”
The Caps have a history with Baltimore. The Skipjacks, who played in Baltimore from 1981 to 1993, were Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate from 1988 to 1993. The city later had the Baltimore Bandits, affiliated with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, from 1995 to 1997. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau remembers Baltimore well. In 1985 he helped lead the Skipjacks to the AHL championship series.
Both Boudreau and McPhee hinted that a number of key players, including star forward Alex Ovechkin, will participate in Tuesday’s game. But they wouldn’t confirm the exact lineup. Boudreau also admitted that playing a game just three days after training camp started is unusual. Washington will play seven preseason games total before the regular season starts Oct. 8.
“We’re all looking forward to playing in Baltimore,” Boudreau said. “It’s going to be cool. Every coach would love to continue practicing. But I also think we’re ready to play.”
