Huet, Kolzig slated to make early appearances against Caps next season

The defending Southeast Division champions begin Friday, Oct. 10 at the Atlanta Thrashers. The home opener is set for the next night against the Chicago Blackhawks and goalie Cristobal Huet, who led the Caps to the playoffs after his February acquisition before leaving as a free agent earlier this month.

Huet isn’t the only former Caps goalie who will make an early-season appearance. Longtime netminder Olie Kolzig returns to Verizon Center as an opponent for the first time during his 17-year career on Nov. 10 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The NHL tweaked its 82-game regular-season schedule for the first time in three years, dropping the number of division games from eight to six. The Caps have long contended the extensive division schedule hurt attendance at Verizon Center because the Southeast Division — Atlanta, Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay — features no traditional hockey markets or fanbases.

In addition to six games against each division opponent, the Caps will play four games against the rest of the Eastern Conference. They also have at least one game against every team in the Western Conference.

The schedule features three four-game homestands at Verizon Center — one in January, one in early March and one in late March and early April — and a five-game homestand in February. But the Caps also have a pair of grueling five-game road trips in November and March and play 10 of their last 15 games on the road.