WASHINGTON — Walking into Capital One Arena about two hours ahead of time, you can often hear howling, yelling, shouting and laughing coming from the basement. And, if you walk a little further, to the event level, you’ll find the Washington Capitals huddled in a circle, trying — by any means necessary, to keep a ball in the air, in a classic game of sewer ball.

Walking in ahead of a playoff game at the end of last season, I found myself — with the arena under construction — walking right past the action.

“Silbsy,” Tom Wilson called over. “Come watch. Tell us who’s best.”

After witnessing the antics, I had to learn more.

The rules of sewer ball are simple. It’s a routine part of any team’s pregame warm-up.

“I feel like you’re moving around a lot, you’re going for balls, definitely warms up your hips,” Ryan Leonard said. “It’s fun, it keeps it light before games.”

Players stand in a circle, the first player serves, and then, whoever it goes to has a maximum of two “touches” to keep it in the air and get it to the next player. Players can use any part of their body except their arms to keep the ball in play.

If a player is the last to touch the ball, and if they can’t save the ball before it hits the ground, then they’re eliminated. Or, as Wilson explained, if it’s a “really bad ball,” an “ungettable” ball as he calls it, then that player is out.

While debates do break out, the circle is pretty good at following the rules.

“The circle officiates itself," Wilson affirmed. "And then, if there’s a real questionable one, you do rock, paper, scissors... Sometimes you have to keep guys honest. Sometimes they’ll say that they touched it or hit the group first or whatever."

In fact, that's how Nic Dowd, years ago in a game of sewer ball, earned the nickname "Judy." After calling for Ovechkin to be out, the captain shrugged. "Whatever, Judge Judy."

That said, things can get intense.

Enter Brandon Duhaime. He was the only player to receive a "red card" last season, after getting a little too heated and kicking the ball a little too hard and a little too high.

"That’s just one of those unwritten rules in sewer, gotta keep it low when you’re going that hard," Wilson shook his head.

Leonard also took the time to point out Duhaime's competitiveness.

"Dewey doesn't really, like, use his feet, though," he laughed. "He's kind of all head. Mostly, him and Tom go at it with their heads. He's an angry player."

Washington Capitals (@Capitals) on X nice, dewey

Duhaime was having none of it.

“(Leonard’s) only played, like, 10 games, he doesn’t know how it works," he denied the allegations. "He’s playing it off like he knows. He doesn’t know that side at all.”

There's also a clear ranking in the group. The Europeans are considered the best on the team, with Ovechkin, whose father was a professional soccer player, and Aliaksei Protas, who grew up playing the game, winning more often than not. Rasmus Sandin also received a lot of accolades from his teammates.

"Well, I have soccer skills," Ovechkin winked.

Washington Capitals (@Capitals) on X goat-like reflexes

Wilson ranks himself above average, though Logan Thompson interrupted him, throwing an empty Powerade bottle at him to further make his point.

"He's up 1-0 (this season), he's acting like (he's great). He cheats," Thompson accused.

Thompson went on to point out how he never gets to serve first, putting him at a disadvantage, and that Wilson will often show up to the circle later when Thompson is nearing the end of his run.

"He knows I got to go really quick, and then he gets (the team to) kind of set up — like volleyball, they set him up for the spike," Thompson said.

Wilson's response? He pointed to the empty Powerade bottle at our feet.

“His game’s a lot like that. Garbage," he chirped.

Ovechkin also had no love for the goalies, calling Thompson and Charlie Lindgren the lower-ranking players in sewer.

Along with Sandin, Matt Roy was also a player who ranked high on a lot of the locker-room surveys. Leonard remains a work in progress, Duhaime said.

“What I’ve seen out of Leno, he’s probably trying to pawn it off on other people," Duhaime said. "He’s down there for sure.”

In the past, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie were among the Capitals' sewer ball greats, along with Marcus Johansson, who recently played his 1,000th NHL game.

"Europeans are good at soccer," Protas pointed out with a grin.

The ultimate point of sewer ball, though, is to warm up for the game and get the mind clear ahead of puck drop.

“The competitive nature of it just gets you on your toes, gets you reactive," Duhaime said.

And for other players like Lindgren, it's just another way to keep things light and keep the camaraderie going.

“When I’m not (starting), I’ll play, and I love it. It’s so much fun, we got a lot of good laughs, we got a lot of good, high talented guys too," Lindgren said.