The Washington Capitals will likely not make the playoffs but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate what Alex Ovechkin accomplished this season. On March 21 against the Columbus Blue Jackets we will all get a chance to do that at Capital One Arena as all fans in attendance will receive an Alex Ovechkin goal countdown bobblehead. And that’s not all.
The Capitals will also hold a pregame ceremony to honor the Great Eight for reaching 802 career goals to pass Gordie Howe for second place all time on the NHL’s goal scoring list. The team captain will receive a gift from the organization, the NHL, the NHLPA, and his teammates.
He will be accompanied on the ice before the game alongside team owner and chairman and CEO of the Capitals and Monumental Sports and Entertainment Ted Leonsis, team president Dick Patrick, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Mark Howe. In addition, Ovechkin’s wife Nastya, sons Sergei and Ilya, his mother Tatyana and brother Mikhail will also be on the ice.
Prior to the ceremony Caps players will wear number eight on their jerseys for warmups which will be signed and auctioned off by the Monumental Sports and Entertainment Foundation at a later date.
The bobblehead box that packages the goal counter bobblehead comes with a QR code for an AR Ovi virtual experience built by Balti Virtual in honor of Ovechkin passing Howe. The augmented reality experience promises to bring fans Ovechkin into the their world. You can visit washcaps.com/AROvi on any web browser or by accessing the effect via the Capitals Instagram profile.
The AR Experience features a special congratulations message and the AR Ovi experience. Fans are encouraged to share photos of their AR Ovi by tagging the @Capitals on social media.
As part of the night’s festivities, 200 pre selected season ticket holders will line the player arrival hallway to greet Ovechkin and his teammates to the game. Fans along the glass for warmups will be given cutouts of Ovechkin’s image in celebration of the milestone.
Also there’s a cool display on the concourse which is an Ovechkin themed throne comprised of more than 802 hockey pucks on the 100 level. There’s also a photo booth featuring Ovi themed props.
It is sure to be a fun night so get your tickets soon! Fans are encouraged to use the #Gr802 hashtag on social media and check out WashCaps.com/Gr802 for more.