Adam Larsson Bowl-Haircut T-Shirt vs. Sonny Milano Flowering Chia Head
Above photos: Left, last night's "Chia Pet" giveaway at Capital One Arena; Right, the inspiration - Capitals player Sonny Milano.
Thursday's Seattle Kraken-Washington Capitals game provided evidence that Vince Lombardi might have been mistaken.
The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame football coach wasn't the first, but was the most famous, to say, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing."
We won't dispute that the Kraken's 4-1 victory over the Captials was the most important thing to both teams, and even fans at Capital One Arena.
But check out the fun and games being had before the puck even dropped.
Not A Bobble-Head, A Chia-Head
From Capitals blog RMNB: "The terra cotta clay head is carved to look like the Capitals forward. If fans spread seeds on the top of Sonny’s clay head, a flowering plant will grow on the top of its head, emulating (Sonny) Milano’s real life curly hair.
"Milano has become well known for his fantastic locks which he told TNT's Tarik El-Bashir he started growing out during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when all of the barbers were closed."
There's A Bunch To Unpack Here
Most often, the "football" being kicked around by players before a game is what we in the U.S. call a soccer ball. But not for Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.
He did play parts of six seasons in Dallas, so maybe that's where he picked up the habit. What really caught our eye was the now-ubiquitous T-shirt featuring the bowl-cut visage of fellow d-man Adam Larsson.
In a postgame ROOT Sports interview, Larsson said teammates were planning on continuing to wear it as long as they keep winning.
T.J. Oshie Misses Tom Wilson
Everett, Washington's T.J. Oshie played a decade of amateur hockey in Seattle, and actually wanted to name his son "Griffey." (His wife vetoed the idea.)
Caps fans know that Oshie and teammate Tom Wilson have a playful?/painful? pregame ritual of hitting each other with their sticks. Since Wilson was absent Thursday with a broken nose, Oshie had to pantomime the ritual himself.
He's Called "Turbo" For A Reason
The other pregame ritual worth mentioning is familiar to fans who show up early at Climate Pledge Arena.
When Brandon Tanev skates back to the dressing room after warmups, he always does it at breakneck speed.
Tanev did pretty well once the game started, too. He assisted on two of the four Kraken goals, and even got an apology from Alex Ovechkin when the Caps superstar inadvertently felled Tanev with a shot as the officials blew a play dead.
