Capitals to host Maple Leafs at Naval Academy in outdoor NHL game

According to multiple sources, the Washington Capitals will host the Toronto Maple Leafs in an outdoor game at the United States Naval Academy.

The NHL has made outdoor hockey games a tradition, having at least three each season for the past few years. 2018 will be no different. The Washington Capitals will be hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Naval Academy on March 3, 2018, according to the Associated Press.

"Two people with knowledge of the situation say the Capitals and Maple Leafs will play an outdoor game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, next season.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the NHL had not announced the event. The game is scheduled to be played March 3 at the 34,000-seat Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium that hosts Navy football games."

This is an interesting decision by the NHL, as it’s the first outdoor game that will feature a stadium with a small seating capacity. It should be interesting to see how this plays out. The Caps are a good decision to host another outdoor game, having done a terrific job with the 2015 Winter Classic. It’s the third such game in franchise history, with their first appearance coming in the 2011 Winter Classic.

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Meanwhile, this is the Maple Leafs’ third outdoor game. They also played at the 2017 Centennial Classic, beating the Detroit Red Wings in overtime. The two teams faced each other in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the Caps beating the Leafs in six games. Having Toronto involved should increase the ratings by a lot. This is important because the NHL can’t count on tickets to generate money since there are only about 34,000 seats in the stadium. The announcement is allegedly going to be made official on Monday.