Several weeks ago, Alex Ovechkin asked Jay Beagle if he could take on his superstition ahead of Game Six against the Penguins. During the day of away games, Beagle would take a hot lap around the rink to start the team’s morning skate. “If the big guy wants it, he gets it,” Beagle said.
Ovechkin’s hot lap proved to be lucky. The Capitals would go on to eliminate the Penguins later that night. Ovechkin continued the tradition in the Eastern Conference Final and the Caps kept winning, taking a 2-0 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The magic, however, ran out during Game Five, and Wednesday, ahead of a series-deciding Game Seven, someone new took the lap.
…Barry Trotz.
NBC Sports Washington’s Tarik El-Bashir and the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan have the videos.
The biggest question entering the morning skate has been answered: #Caps Coach Barry Trotz took the hot lap, replacing Alex Ovechkin after a Game 5 loss here in Tampa. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/UaEdwU5YI6
— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) May 23, 2018
LOOK AT HIM GO.
Caps lost their last road game. So someone else had to do the hot lap. It was Barry friggin’ Trotz. pic.twitter.com/F5k9j9AfkS
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) May 23, 2018
The players hooted and hollered as Trotz made his way around the rink in one of the most funny moments of the season.
And yes, Barry nearly wiped out at the end. And that’s probably because he hasn’t skated that fast in nearly 30 years.
“He was fast,” Ovechkin joked to reporters after the morning skate. Ovi said it was a team decision.
“They called my number, and at this time of year, you’re all-in,” Trotz said according to Khurshudyan. “I was a little bit worried about the turns because the rudders haven’t been sharpened all year. You didn’t see a lot of crossovers there. I used body mass and weight to dig in there.”
“You didn’t see a lot of crossovers there. I used body mass and weight to dig in.” — #Caps Coach Barry Trotz on his hot lap. pic.twitter.com/GoHL4qTPKb
— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) May 23, 2018
The gesture to let Trotz do the lap continues the team’s focus of having fun in the playoffs. The head coach is also in his final year of his contract and may not return next season, win or lose.
