The Washington Capitals will host their fourth of five 50th Anniversary Era Nights on March 7.
The Capitals will celebrate the ‘Rock The Red’ period, spanning the years 2005 through 2014, during their game against the Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena.
All fans in attendance at the game will receive the third and final duo bobblehead giveaway of the season, a highly-sought bobble featuring Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
The design has Ovechkin in his rookie year jersey, the team’s black Capitol Dome sweater, in which he scored his first NHL goal while Backstrom rocks the Capitals’ red wordmark design that debuted during his first NHL season in 2007-08.
The sample photo of the bobblehead nails both players’ likenesses skating up ice, though Bobble Ovi is wearing a ‘C’ — Ovechkin was not the Capitals’ captain during his two years wearing this sweater — and has a gap-toothed smile. The Moscow, Russia native lost his top tooth during the 2007-08 season on October 5th, 2007 against the Atlanta Thrashers.
Earlier in the season, the Capitals gave away duo bobbleheads of Mike Gartner and Rod Langway (December 14 vs. Buffalo Sabres), and Peter Bondra and Olie Kolzig ( February 1 vs. Winnipeg Jets). On November 8, when the team celebrated the Pioneer Era, the Capitals gave away 50th anniversary replica jerseys. Meanwhile, the Capitals are scheduled to hand out 50th anniversary photo books to fans attending the April 4 game against the Chicago Blackhawks to mark the #ALLCAPS and Stanley Cup Era Night. (See the full promotional calendar.)
Bringing the two franchise greats together in a collectible has made the March 7 Capitals game a hot ticket. A diagram on Ticketmaster (if I’m reading it right) shows the game nearly a sell out (though there are many resale tickets available). Stubhub says tix for that night are “selling fast.” The last known bobblehead produced of Ovechkin and Backstrom together was a bobble created by FOCO in 2019 featuring both players holding up the Stanley Cup, which sold out quickly.
Backstrom, the Capitals’ franchise leader in assists, and Ovechkin, the Capitals’ franchise leader in goals, were the one-two punch that led Washington to three different Presidents’ Trophies and the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. Together they formed one of the NHL’s most lethal scoring lines and power plays. Before stepping away from the game in November 2023, Backstrom assisted on 279 of Ovechkin’s goals, over 30 percent of Ovechkin’s tallies. The tandem was so iconic that they filmed a commercial together where Ovechkin said, “We are duo.”
Per the Capitals, the team will also reveal life-size versions of the Ovechkin and Backstrom bobbleheads during that March 7 game at section 105 for fans to take photos with. Those two bobbles will be set up alongside the previously revealed bobbles of alumni Mike Gartner and Rod Langway, and Peter Bondra and Olie Kolzig.
The Capitals also announced that Backstrom along with Karl Alzner, Mike Green, and Brent Johnson will all be making appearances at the game.
