All tickets for Friday’s game, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., will be honored for the new start time. Because of the earlier puck drop, Washington will not have a morning skate.

The Capitals remain in communication with the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins and local government officials regarding the status of Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. game against the Penguins at Verizon Center, the team said in a release.

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Update (5:30 p.m.): The Washington Capitals’ games on Friday and Sunday still remain on as scheduled, as there’s been no official word to the contrary. The news of Metrorail closing on Saturday and Sunday, however, could cause the NHL to consider postponing one or both of the games.

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Some things to keep in mind:

The Anaheim Ducks were travelling to Washington today, and with good conditions today, there’s no reason to believe their travel was delayed. They are scheduled to have a morning skate at Kettler Capitals Iceplex at 10:30 on Friday morning, with the Capitals on the other rink at 10:15.

While getting into the District shouldn’t be a problem for the Ducks, getting out could be. To be able to play in Detroit on Saturday night as they’re scheduled, they’d need to fly out on Friday night after the game. Here’s this from the Capital Weather Gang:

One possibility is that the game time on Friday is moved up. Here’s this from Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times:

With Metrorail closed all weekend, Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh seems to be in greatest jeopardy. While the worst of the blizzard may be over by Sunday, the Penguins would have to arrive on Saturday, and they host Vancouver on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Fans would also have difficulty getting there with Metrorail service unavailable.

Original post:

Despite the threat of a massive snowstorm this weekend, the Washington Capitals games on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Anaheim Ducks and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Penguins are to be played as originally scheduled, the team announced. The team said it is continuing to monitor the forecast, and will remain in constant communication with the NHL and the visiting teams throughout the week.

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In the event of any schedule changes for either game, the Capitals will email all season-ticket holders and communicate updates immediately via WashingtonCaps.com and their social media platforms.

Here’s what the Capital Weather Gang has to say about the storm, which is expected to begin sometime on Friday afternoon:

Snow totals could be historic depending on the final storm track. We think 12-20 inches is reasonable first estimate for the immediate metro area, with higher amounts of up to 2 feet or so in our colder areas, north and west of line from roughly Warrenton to Fairfax to Rockville to Columbia. Somewhat lesser amounts may fall southeast of the Beltway, more on the order of 8-16 inches.

“Potential life-threatening conditions [are] expected Friday night into Saturday night,” the National Weather Service says . “Travel is expected to be severely limited if not impossible during the height of the storm Friday night and Saturday.”

Virginia’s governor already has declared a state of emergency in response to the winter storm. Metrorail can operate very close to a normal schedule in snowfall of up to six inches. However, once snow reaches a height of about eight inches, it may be necessary to suspend service above ground.