The Washington Capitals will take another day trip to Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena this year for the 2012 Baltimore Hockey Classic. The arena should be more prepared this year, knowing how slushy the ice was at last year’s inaugural event. The Caps will take the ice on September 26th.

After last night’s series-evening 2-1 win over Boston, the Capital still technically have a shot at walking into the Baltimore barn as the Stanley Cup champions. They also have a shot to have a different head coach and a whole new batch of questions to answer about why the team has yet to seriously challenge for the crown.

The pre-sale for special people starts today and tickets go to the general public on Monday. The opponent for what will likely be the Caps preseason opener has yet to be determined.

Please, anyone but Nashville.