The Washington Capitals defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Friday, and after the game, there was a meeting between two sets of famous hockey brothers.
In a photo posted by Alex Ovechkin‘s wife, Nastya Ovechkina, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes posed with the couple’s two sons, Sergei and Ilya.
The photo was notable not only for the two pairs of brothers dapping each other up, but also for what was in the background. Jack and Luke had brought signed sticks to the meetup. Luke’s autographed twig is in the foreground while Jack’s is behind his.
The sticks suggest another memorabilia swap, which Ovechkin has been holding both publicly and privately with NHL stars throughout this season, to collect gear for his future hockey museum in Moscow, Russia.
Not only has Ovechkin been collecting twigs, but he’s also notably exchanged jerseys with Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand, and Team Canada superstar Marie-Philip Poulin.
“The only thing that makes me sad is you see these jersey swaps,” Matthew Tkachuk said on his Wingmen Podcast, “it’s like, man, I hope this isn’t the last year.”
The Hughes-Ovechkin pic also featured Jack Hughes showing off his fixed smile for the first time since the Olympics. The superstar forward, who scored the Golden Goal for Team USA, was high-sticked during the championship game of the tournament, having several teeth chipped at the top of his mouth.
