Capitals Set to Host Flyers Thursday in NHL Preseason Contest at GIANT Center

September 23, 2025

The National Hockey League is coming to Chocolatetown this week as the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers play at GIANT Center on Thursday at 7 pm.

This is only the fourth time the GIANT Center has hosted an NHL preseason game and the first since 2006, and a large crowd is expected for Thursday's contest.

The Capitals have enjoyed a longstanding affiliation with Hershey that began twenty years ago ahead of the 2005-06 season. The Bears have won the Calder Cup five times during the current partnership (2006, 2009, 2010, 2023, 2024), and no NHL-AHL pairing has won more Calder Cups in that span. 

Last season, the Capitals roster featured 15 players who have also played in Hershey for the Bears. Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas were part of Hershey's 2023 Calder Cup team, while Ethen Frank and Dylan McIlrath led Hershey to back-to-back Calder Cups in 2023 and 2024. Capitals defenseman John Carlson won the Calder Cup with Hershey in 2009 and 2010. Many players who once wore the Chocolate and White could return to The Sweetest Place on Earth for Thursday's game.

"I am hoping I'm in that game, that would be really special," said McIlrath. "I've been back a few times visiting friends and seeing the guys, but Hershey has a special place in my heart. Anytime I can go back it's special, but to be back on the GIANT Center ice wearing a Capitals jersey would be pretty cool. It's been a great partnership with the Caps and Hershey with a lot of on-ice success. It's good to reward the fans there with a great game of hockey."

Thursday's game marks Washington's second exhibition contest of the 2025 preseason slate. Washington was victorious in Boston by a 5-2 score last Sunday, thanks to three points from Hershey alum Hendrix Lapierre. The 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP is one of many former Hershey skaters vying for a roster spot with the big club.

Behind the Washington bench is a familiar face in Spencer Carbery. He was Hershey's head coach from 2018-21, winning the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding coach in 2020-21. Carbery is the reigning Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL's coach of the year. 

Carbery's Washington team has been without the NHL's greatest goal scorer of all-time, Alex Ovechkin, due to a lower-body injury sustained the opening day of camp. While the injury lessens the chance of Ovechkin coming to Hershey, the 40-year-old has taken the ice at GIANT Center before. On Sept. 25, 2005, the Capitals and Penguins played in Hershey in a game that saw Ovechkin dress for Washington ahead of his record-setting rookie season. 

An extremely limited number of tickets for Thursday's game remain via Ticketmaster. For fans who cannot attend, the game will air on Monumental Sports Network as well as NBC Sports Philadelphia+, and the contest can be heard on the Capitals Radio Network.