RMNB’s New Rally Balloon T-Shirt. Click here to view all colors and sizes.

LaBarbera swipes at the Rally Balloon. (Photo credit: Ann Heisenfelt)

The Rally Balloon. It turned a struggling team– who had lost four straight, with one star benched and another under scrutiny, with an embattled head coach and a bunch of grumpy fans– into winners.

When the Capitals were down 2-1 in the second period, an unassuming red balloon floated out from the crowd. It hovered ominously twenty feet over Jason LaBarbera’s head. The annoyed Coyotes goaltender swiped at the ‘loon before knocking it up in the air with his stick. No biggie, right?

The Capitals promptly scored three inspired goals and defeated Phoenix 4-3.

First star of the game? Among fans it’s the #RallyBalloon. There’s now a RallyBalloon Twitter account, a rollicking Rally Balloon hashtag, and now our Rally Balloon T-Shirt.

Check ’em out here.

Here’s Video of the Rally Balloon in Action