Home / News / The Capitals are undefeated when Alex Ovechkin starts the morning skate with a ‘hot lap.’ He did it again today before Game Two.

The Capitals are undefeated when Alex Ovechkin starts the morning skate with a ‘hot lap.’ He did it again today before Game Two.

By Ian Oland

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May 13, 2018 3:12 pm

The Alex Ovechkin hot lap is now officially a thing.

It all started on May 7. Before Game Six against the Penguins, Ovechkin asked Jay Beagle if he could take the fourth-line center’s tradition of doing a solo lap around the rink before the team’s morning skate.

“If the big guy wants it, he gets it,” Beagle said to NBC Sports Washington’s Tarik El-Bashir.

The Capitals proceeded eliminated the Pens later that night. Ovechkin did the hot lap again Friday before Game One against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Capitals dominated, scoring the game’s first four goals and hanging on to win 4-2.

Sunday morning, ahead of Game Two, Ovechkin did the hot lap again. Both El-Bashir and the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan got video.

Videos

Video: @TarikNBCS

Video: @ikhurshudyan

After the morning skate, Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov talked about the superstitious lap.

When asked if it was superstition or something he liked to do, Ovechkin played coy.

“I have to, the skates have to move,” Ovechkin said. “They have to wake up, you know? That’s why I’m over there do the lap.”

Meanwhile, Kuzy had a joke.

“I don’t think I’m going to go there because after me, no one’s going to be fast enough,” Kuznetsov said, breaking up into laughter.

Will the Capitals up their record to 3-0 when Ovi does a hot lap? We’ll find out later tonight after Game Two.

Full Coverage of Game Two

Headline photo via @ikhurshudyan

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