Alex Ovechkin and the Caps shave off elimination with new goatees in Game 4 win
The Capitals somehow resisted the temptation to ditch the new look after falling behind, 2-0, less than 10 minutes into the first period, by which point fans were calling for Reirden’s bald head. Then Kuznetsov, who, as many people cleverly suggested can go by “The Bald Eagle” for as long as Washington remains alive this postseason, sparked the Capitals’ comeback in an eventual 3-2 win with a dazzling second-period goal.
Ovechkin, who also rocked a playoff goatee in 2011, scored the game’s final two goals, buzzing a one-timer past Semyon Varlamov to even the score in the second period and tallying the game-winner early in the third period on an odd-man rush.
“GOATee magic,” the Capitals tweeted.
GOATee magic, indeed.
“I think you always try to adapt and do different things that you think can give you an edge, physically [and] mentally, and try different stuff to maybe get yourself out of a funk,” Reirden told reporters when asked about his players’s facial hair after the game. “That’s happened in every sport for years and years. This is an example of some different things that went on with our team. There’s obviously many other things that go on behind closed doors. We’ve got a strong leadership group, we’ve got a strong bond on our team, and belief, and we know if we’re going to get anywhere, it’s got to be together. That was the most buy in that we’ve obviously had in the playoffs.”
Seated next to Ovechkin, Kuznetsov was all business during his postgame interview, declining to offer any details when asked about his new look.
Welcome to Toronto, the Las Vegas of the North.
Oshie, whose goatee coupled with his long hair made him look something like a pirate, provided a little more background on the NBC Sports Washington postgame show.
“Uhhhhh, yeah,” he said, when host Rob Carlin asked him if the goatees were a team-wide thing, seemingly unsure just how much he should reveal. “I think the team group chat got going. [Ovechkin] started it and ride together, die together, you know?”
The Capitals will ride, for at least one more game, and presumably while sporting a few goatees on Thursday.
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