The Capitals and the Blues met in St. Louis on Tuesday night for the first of two preseason meetings, with the Capitals ultimately winning with a 4-0 shutout.
It was an intense game, with plenty of heavy hitting, Capitals goals, and feisty fisticuffs. I had a front row seat to the action on the ice and in the penalty box.
Here are some of the highlights that didn’t make it onto the Instagram story during the game.
I am first and foremost a Capitals fan, but I moved to St. Louis over the summer to be closer to family, and have become a fan of my new hometown’s team. My actual ticket for the night was up in the cheap seats, but–with politeness and some good luck!–I ended up in the second row.
(Well. First-row until those ticketholders showed up, and then third-row across the aisle periodically because no one else was sitting behind the penalty box, and what was I supposed to do, NOT go over there and take pictures of our very good boys being so very bad???)
Everyone I met and talked to at the game was incredibly friendly, including arena staff, other Capitals fans, and the Blues fans, who were, for the most part, gracious losers.
"These'll be good for your blog, huh?"
Yes, my favorite usher & person, they are in fact quite good. pic.twitter.com/e2DOunKxEv
— b. (@youripides) September 26, 2018
I thought that I was rocking out pretty hard in my retro Ovechkin jersey from his rookie year, but this fan bought a Dynamo jersey over the summer in St. Petersburg. Definitely the best-dressed fan at the rink.
Still can’t believe I was sitting this close to the game.
There were a LOT of penalties.
Nine penalties over the last 6:55 of the second. https://t.co/Tpo8EgZ4YA
— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) September 26, 2018
Luckily, I had a pretty good view of the box!
(Thank you to the woman who encouraged me to sneak up there and even snapped a few pictures for me!)
At one point, there were four Capitals players in the bin at the same time.
With real estate at a premium, Nathan Walker briefly ended up sitting in Madison Bowey’s lap.
They should rename the penalty box the clown car when there are 4+ people in it.
Even the players who weren’t penalized made a few trips to the bin to return equipment that had been misplaced (or thrown aside dramatically before a fight).
This visit features Nathan Walker’s hedgehog hair.
Important observation: Tom Wilson has very nice hands.
Tom Wilson: *in the sin bin. again.*
Alex Ovechkin: *big sigh*
After Shane Gersich attempted a crazy spin-o-rama shot, Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo pushed him from behind into the boards.
Even though Tom Wilson did take on Robert Bortuzzo, the Liam O’Brien/Pat Maroon fight was the most intense of the night.
O’Brien’s hands were bleeding in the box afterward. 🤕
Apparently, even with all the fights, the Capitals captain didn’t feel like there had been enough hitting. After hugging Pheonix Copley to congratulate him on the 42-save shutout against his former team, Ovechkin went down the line bopping his teammates on the head.
He also tripped Braden Holtby. No penalties were called on the play.
The Blues and Capitals will meet again in DC on Sunday, September 30. Hopefully, Capital One Arena’s penalty box has enough room.
Headline photo: @youripides
