Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will play for Team Russia in the 2019 World Championship, but for now, he remains in the DC area.
Saturday, Ovechkin was spotted at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, a day after Breakdown Day, buying a Capitals hat at the Capitals Team Store.
Caps fans Francesca Larson and Rose Schoshinski, who go to school in the area, were just entering the shop when they noticed the Russian machine in line to pay.
“My friend and I went to buy stuff because playoff merchandise was on sale,” Francesca said. “We saw him getting checking out and we were like ‘Oh my god, that’s Ovi.’ We were the only ones in the store so we asked for a picture and he was so kind!”
Ovechkin took a picture with each fan. Here’s Rose.
And here’s Francesca.
The photos were taken around 2:35 pm. “I think he was grabbing a few more things from the locker room or something before grabbing hat from the store,” Francesca said.
The chance meeting with Ovechkin continues Francesca’s good run of luck this week. The Caps fan made a sign for Game Seven that read Hurricane Season Is Over. It was featured on NBC Sports Washington’s Twitter before the game.
Checked the doppler and everything 🤣 #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/rtSsBzsOpT
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) April 24, 2019
The Capitals would lose that night, but the encounter with Ovechkin helped lift the girls’ spirits.
“Meeting Ovi today probably cured my post-playoff depression,” Francesca said.
