ARLINGTON, VA — The Washington Capitals took to the ice Saturday afternoon ahead of their Sunday matinee against the San Jose Sharks. The team was without Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was dealing with the flu. But the Caps had fun anyway.
From Travis Boyd giving away his stick to a young fan, to Nic Dowd helping a trainer hydrate, here are a few snapshots from practice.
Ilya Samsonov, who notched an NHL record for road wins on Friday, tried out his wrister before practice. The goaltender becomes the goal-scorer.
Nic Dowd took a moment on the bench to hydrate Capitals head athletic trainer Jason Serbus who was standing by on the bench. Dowd sprayed Gatorade into Serbus’s mouth and then helped him wipe off the excess. What a guy.
At practice, the last player to make it into the circle for stretches has to skate a lap around the ice. At Saturday’s practice, that honor went to Jakub Vrana. Check out Ovi fist-pumping and cheering Vrana on during his lap of shame.
The last player to the stretching circle has to skate a lap and today that player is… @VranaJakub pic.twitter.com/LA9bIW0m6S
— RMNB (@russianmachine) January 4, 2020
Carl Hagelin led the team in stretches at the center of the ice. Unclear if these tongue stretches are part of the training staff’s recommended stretching regimen.
There were some great fan-made signs at practice, and quite a few of them challenged Capitals players to rock-paper-scissor contests for a stick or a puck. But maybe it was the trade offered by this adorable young fan that prompted Travis Boyd into giving away his stick?
