Miroshnichenko, Lapierre Back In D.C. As Several Capitals Attend Commanders Season Opener; Ovechkin Admits Love Of Tailgating

The Capitals took in some football on Sunday as the team gears up for training camp in just 11 days.

The Washington Capitals saw some familiar faces get together to take in the Washington Commanders' season opener, as Alex Ovechkin and several of his teammates took in the action at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on Saturday.

Ovechkin got some pregame throws in and was with his wife, Nastya, and son, Sergei. He was also joined by countrymates Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Alexeyev and Ivan Miroshnichenko. Also in attendance were Hendrix Lapierre, Vincent Iorio, Andrew Cristall and Alexander Suzdalev.

Attending Commanders games is nothing new for the Capitals captain, who detailed his love of American football — and tailgating — on the "It's Hockey, Brother!" podcast last month while also admitting he's fallen asleep before at major league baseball games.

"I especially like when we come with a big group before the game — kabobs, burgers, they like to do all that there," Ovechkin said, per a DeepL translation. "Everyone's shouting, everyone's cheering. All the energy, you get energized."

Alexeyev has been in the United States and spent his offseason training and travelling around the country, and he rejoined the team's informal skates back in mid-August. Ovechkin, meanwhile, returned to D.C. last week and joined the team on Tuesday. Iorio, Suzdalev and Cristall have all been back in the District and taking part in informal skates as well, while Iorio also participated in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase this past week.

Miroshnichenko and Lapierre are the latest names to return and is expected to join the team this coming week. Both are taking part in the team's upcoming rookie camp from Sept. 16-19 before training camp kicks off on Sept. 21.

Each rising forward has his sights set on a roster spot, as Miroshnichenko is looking to make his mark and transition to the NHL following a strong rookie KHL campaign and comeback from Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Lapierre, who won the Calder Cup in his rookie season with Hershey and had the game-tying goal in Game 7 of the Finals, wants to make the jump and get some NHL action in for the first time since getting a six-game look back in 2021.