‘The Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, and the Washington Capitals are up against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Eastern Conference. On Monday, the Caps took an early lead in the series when Alexander Ovechkin scored his first-ever overtime playoff goal. But afterward, people were talking about something completely different.
After finishing first in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals are facing the second wild card team, the Montreal Canadiens, in the opening playoff round. On Monday, the teams faced off in Game One, and the youngsters from north of the border managed to push the game into overtime by scoring two goals in the final ten minutes.
Alexander Ovechkin wearing Yaroslavl patch
During overtime, “The Great Eight” achieved something he had never done before—scoring his first playoff overtime goal in his 153rd postseason game. With that goal, he gave the Capitals a 1–0 lead in the series. However, after the game, a picture began circulating on Reddit showing a patch on Alexander Ovechkin shoulder pads. The patch bears the logo of the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, in memory of the tragic plane crash in 2011 that claimed the lives of the entire team.
On September 7, 2011, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was en route to a game against Dynamo Minsk when their plane crashed during takeoff. All but one of the 45 people on board lost their lives. The crash is considered one of the worst tragedies in hockey history. Alexander Ovechkin has worn the patch ever since, though it has recently come back into public attention.
“I lost a lot of friends this summer. Anything can happen in this world. It just happens that those were friends who do the same job I do. It’s a huge tragedy and loss, but… you never know when and you never know how,” Ovechkin told The Globe and Mail in 2011.
In the picture below, you can see Ovechkin wearing the patch after scoring his 800th goal in 2022.
