Coolio passed away at the age 59 on Wednesday.
The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reported on Twitter that the Capitals paid tribute to the legendary rapper after their 2-0 victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.
The team played the Coolio hit Gangsta’s Paradise to celebrate their win. Pell added that the song was “literally blaring” as she approached the locker room.
It’s unclear who chose to play the song or if the team will continue playing it moving forward into the regular season after wins. Though, earlier in Training Camp, Tom Wilson said that Alex Ovechkin has taken over the team’s deejaying duties with him out due to knee surgery.
During the 2020-21 season, the Capitals’ victory song was Live Is Life by Opus. That was to honor legendary soccer player Diego Maradona who passed away in November 2020. Maradona famously danced to the song during warmups, making it an iconic part of his career.
“I think it resurfaced with a pretty cool video this past summer from a legend,” Wilson said last year. “I’ll let you guys do the digging to see if you can it was. It wasn’t hockey, but a different sport.
“Obviously, it’s a fun video and a catchy song,” he added. “Our team services guy, Rob Tillotson, is responsible for the postgame win song. That’s a lot of pressure for him. He’s done a good job with this one.”
The Capitals changed their victory song in a May 5 game against the New York Rangers to “Country Roads” to show their support to TJ Oshie after the winger scored a hat trick in his first appearance after his father’s death.
The Capitals have famously used different victory songs during Alex Ovechkin’s time with the team. The Capitals’ also rocked DJ Pauly D’s Beat Dat Beat during the 2010-11 season, which was featured on HBO’s 24/7: The Road To The Winter Classic.
