Dmitry Orlov had one of the best games of his career Tuesday night.
The Russian defenseman scored three points in the Capitals’ 5-2 rout of the Minnesota Wild. It was a surprisingly rare offensive explosion for Orlov, who was first made famous by his dangling and powerful shot in the MHL and KHL.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to one of the greatest nights of the season. The Washington Capitals are holding their annual Halloween Party at the Russian restaurant Mari Vanna.
Technically, Halloween is this Wednesday, but since the Capitals will conclude their four-game road trip in Montreal Thursday night, they decided to hold the jamboree this evening. The team, perhaps strategically, also made Monday an off day.
This year’s costumes are awesome once again. Let’s review!
Dmitry Orlov is one of the best hitters in the NHL, and Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils, the Russian defenseman laid out Taylor Hall with a monster hit.
The reigning Hart Trophy-winner tried to dipsy-doo around Orly to the middle of the ice and NOPE.
A big fat NOPE. That goal was not accomplished.
Sergei Ovechkin has been decked out in the best baby style, thanks to Nike. But on Tuesday, mom Nastya Ovechkina revealed that he also has the cutest Capitals themed nursery items too.
Hanging above his crib is a custom Alex Ovechkin baby mobile, featuring four different variations of The Great 8 throughout his hockey career in plush form. We spotted his Dynamo Moscow jersey, both Capitals home and away jerseys, as well as the jersey for the Russian national team.
From the sounds that baby Sergei was making in the background, we’d guess that he loves his Papa-centric mobile.
The happiest day of the Capitals regular season happened on Saturday when they participated in the annual canine calendar photoshoot. Partnering with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, the guys posed with dogs up for adoption, as well as their own family-owned pups.
This year’s shoot was more relaxed, with each Caps player sporting their own style with a special guest: the STANLEY CUP! And what’s better than tiny puppies in the Cup? Not much.
Capitals players John Carlson, Brett Connolly, Nic Dowd, Lars Eller, TJ Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, Matt Niskanen, and Chandler Stephenson all posed with their own dogs. Nicklas Backstrom, Madison Bowey, Travis Boyd, Andre Burakovsky, Pheonix Copley, Christian Djoos, Braden Holtby, Dmitrij Jaskin, Michal Kempny, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Devante Smith-Pelly, Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker, and Tom Wilson took their photos with dogs available for adoption through Homeward Trails.
Since the calendar began in 2014, the Caps have raised almost $250,000 for Homeward Trails. A limited number of calendars will be available for $20 at the November 21 game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The calendar will be sold online and details will be announced at a later date.
While the official photos won’t be seen until the release, we hope these adorable photos will hold you over until then.
After the shortest offseason in franchise history, the Capitals got back to business on Wednesday.
Before their banner raising and 7-0 beatdown on the Boston Bruins, Capitals players walked a red carpet outside Capital One Arena. There was a remarkable turnout from fans who crowded F street in anticipation.
As Lexuses dropped the guys off at the corner of 6th and F, they were escorted down the rug with fans chosen by the team. The Caps spent time signing autographs and taking quick selfies with the fans. Some of them, including Craig Laughlin, Alex Ovechkin, and TJ Oshie, were even wearing their Stanley Cup championship ring.
Last season, TJ Oshie brought in the most cheers as his arrival was announced. He brought on the same excitement this season but Lars Eller also received a massive reception from the crowd. The scorer of the game-winning Stanley Cup Final may be one of the most popular players on the team, for good reason of course.
Nothing has changed with this well-dressed group of weirdos — some players wore custom suits (we’ll have more on John Carlson’s ditty later). Ovechkin also wore another classic blue suit. Never change, Ovi.
Check out all the photos from the event below.
The Capitals play their final preseason game on Sunday against the St. Louis Blues, and one Capital spent Saturday evening dining with the opposition.
Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov had dinner at Joss Cafe & Sushi Bar in Annapolis with Blues forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Ivan Barbashev, and Dmitrij Jaskin.
As you may recall, Dmitry Orlov nearly missed his day with the Stanley Cup this summer after the famous trophy missed its flight from Moscow to Novokuznetsk. Today on Instagram, Orlov shared a video produced by Russian TV host Stanislav Yarushin, which gave an overview of that day’s events.
The video features an interview with the Caps defenseman, in which Orlov explains how the disaster was narrowly averted, and how it felt getting up close and personal with the Cup and over 6,000 of his closest friends.
Leading up to the Capitals banner-raising ceremony on October 3, we’ll be sharing content from the summer that we never got around to publishing. This series is entitled Stanley Cup stories.
Three days after the Washington Capitals vanquished the Vegas Golden Knights in five games and secured the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, the team made its first public appearance in Washington DC.
Alex Ovechkin was scheduled to throw out the first pitch ahead of a Washington Nationals game, but little was known about how the team would be honored or what they’d be doing with the Stanley Cup.
Up to that point, the DMV area was desperate to celebrate with the team and they finally got their first chance approximately ten minutes before the first pitch of the Giants and Nationals.
The Capitals, including majority owner Ted Leonsis, team president Dick Patrick, and head coach Barry Trotz, lined up in the stairs leading to the Nationals clubhouse. And then everyone waited. As the anticipation of the Capitals’ appearance grew, a loud Let’s Go Caps! chant rang across the stadium. The sound hit me on the field like a sack of potatoes.
Eventually, Nationals PA announcer Jerome Hruska introduced DC’s first championship-winning team in over two decades, and Ovechkin walked the Cup up the dugout steps to a loud ovation. His teammates, who appeared ragged from days of intense partying, followed in tow.
The gang is back together!
TJ Oshie, Andre Burakovsky, and Dmitry Orlov were the last of the Stanley Cup winning squad to arrive in DC over the weekend.
On Monday the three joined their teammates on the ice for the informal skates being held at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
