Alex Ovechkin and rap music go together like cheese whiz and nachos. His cameo in Sasha Belyi’s Champion was such a hit with our readers, we had to buy four extra mice to run on those little wheels to power our web servers. And on Wednesday, using Maria Kirilenko’s iPhone, Ovi and his crew put their hoods up and gyrated to Drake’s Started From The Bottom. And here I was thinking we’d have nothing to post during the four-day break.

GIF by welshhockeyfan

GIF by alzner

A few days ago, when the Caps clinched the Southeast division, Alex Ovechkin was asked how the team celebrated. “Yeah, like, we went to the bar. I got home at 7 in the morning. I get hammered,” Ovechkin deadpanned to The Washington Post’s Katie Carrera. “That’s kind of Russian celebration.” Well on his day off after winning the Rocket Richard trophy, Ovi had another early morning Russian celebration, this time putting on sneakers, grey shorts, a zip-up hoodie, and a Caps floppy hat given away on Fan Appreciation night and played tennis with his fiancée Maria Kirilenko. Adorbs. This is pretty much the same attire I wear on Sundays too.

Photo credit: @Ovi8

Photo credit: Washington Capitals Instagram

Tonight, the Washington Capitals are holding their annual season ticket holder party at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Over the years, the event has produced classic moments such as Alex Semin speaking English on video for the first time ever and the entire team riding a roller coaster. So far this evening, we have already been treated to a photo of Alex Ovechkin and Maria Kirilenko posing just before they rode on the Superman roller coaster.

For those of you at the event tonight, tweet or email us your favorite photos from the event and we’ll publish our favorites as the night goes along. RMNB readers, put on your fedoras and get out your fancy mobile phones. You haves some investigative reporting to do for us!

Photos

Photo credit: Washington Capitals Instagram

The quintessential #NeuvyFace photo. (Photo credit: @Jessica_Stan808)

Photo credit: @eduktor42

Mike Ribeiro hanging out with the event coordinator. (Photo credit: @eduktor42)

Troy Brouwer signs the Brouwer Rangers’ helmet. (Photo credit: @brouwerrangers)

“For the record, Maria is laughing, not puking.” (Photo credit: @sombrero_guy)

No one will top this. Martin Erat signed George McPhee’s bio page in a program which included a photo of Filip Forsberg. Amanda says he laughed when he asked him to sign it. (Photo credit: @unleashthefury)

Suzanne had the players sign her Ovechtrick shirt. (Photo credit: @suzannekang)

Ovi disgusted after missing out on a prize. (Photo credit: @itallfallsdwn)

Mikhail Ovechkin. (Photo credit: @mkpanda78)

John Carlson signing autographs. (Photo credit: @AmyD2010move)

A great photo of Eric Fehr. (Photo credit: @eduktor42)

Abby meets Alex Ovechkin. TOO CUTE. (Photo credit: Patrick Wood)

Nicklas Backstrom smiling. (Photo credit: @Jessica_Stan808)

Photo credit: @mkirilenko

Maria with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. (Photo credit: @mkirilenko)

Ovi holds his nose behind Maria. (Photo credit: @zyvo23)

Mike Ribeiro poses with @hotpinkhope’s new neon sock. (Photo credit: @amberlynne)

Matt Hendricks smiles for the camera. (Photo credit: @jesse_westside)

John Erskine tries to smile. (Photo credit: @AllisonGyovai)

John Carlson. Caps staffer looks stunned. (Photo credit: @jesse_westside)

Jay Beagle and Karl Alzner signing autographs. (Photo credit: @AllisonGyovai)

From mkpanda78: “When I gave Beagle this picture that I took, he started laughing. I asked if he remembered it and he said that it’s hard to keep track cause he tries to “kill Perry all the time”. He then showed it to Alzner who got a kick out of it as well. Matthieu laughed when he signed it later! Best day! I love the Caps!!!”

Joel Ward, Jeff Schultz, and the guy behind the Capitals Tumblr, James Heuser. (Photo credit: @kat4888)

Fantastic photo of Mathieu Perreault. (Photo credit: Molly Flatley)

#OleksyFace. (Photo credit: @suzannekang)

More #OleksyFace. (Photo credit: @kellygirl32)

And finally, Ovi picks his nose. (Photo credit: @makeyagomads)

Tweet or email us your photos!

A thumbs up from Kirilenko is more lucky than a swimming pool full of horseshoes and four-leaf clovers. (Photo credit: @mkirilenko)

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

That washed-up Russian, Alex Ovechkin, has scored 17 goals in his last 15 games. During that span, the Washington Capitals are an astounding 12-2-1, which has taken them from the cellar of the Eastern Conference to the top of the Southeast Division. I guess we really did forget to flush. The goals have made Ovechkin a MVP candidate again for the first time in years and literally the happiest guy on the planet.

Saturday night against the Lightning, Ovechkin punctuated a huge first period for the Caps with a beautiful semi-breakaway goal. As the Lightning prepared for Ovi to shoot from the circles, the Great Eight surprised everybody on the ice and went to his backhand, beating Ben Bishop to the right post. It would be Washington’s third goal of the period and the team’s 20th shot.

Let’s just forget about the two periods after that.

Video

The goal, which was reminiscent of Ovi’s game-winning overtime tally against the Islanders in 2011, was his 27th of the season. Ovechkin is now the NHL’s league leader in goals once again. And this time his reign will last more than an hour.

Maria, please keep coming to all the games.

GIFs

GIFs by welshhockeyfan

Photo credit: @mkirilenko

A night before the Capitals take on the New York Islanders at home, Alex Ovechkin and fellow countryman Dmitry Orlov took their ladies, Maria and Varvara, out to dinner. Maybe they were celebrating the Caps’ three-game winning-streak or maybe they were celebrating Ovi’s NHL Live interview where he said uh exactly 382 times. Maybe they were just hungry. Either way, hooray for Russian Caps hanging out. Helps the RMNB brand.

The happy couple. (Photo credit: @mkirilenko)

Every blogger has that day in his life when he must link to Huffington Post. For me, that day is today.

HuffPo has reprinted an AP story in which the Ovi and Maria finally divulge some details on their upcoming wedding. Emphasis on some. Here is all the information I gleaned from the piece:

• No wedding date set yet (insert snide joke about no playoffs opening up Ovi’s summer schedule).
• “I think all the young girls, they want to have the best dress, the best wedding, and everything the best.” – Maria on planning the wedding. So this is gonna be a thing then, is it?
• Maria is BFFs with Stella McCartney, so there’s your dress right there, folks. Also, possibly wedding band if she plays her cards right and Ringo isn’t busy.
• Maria on Ovi and the Caps: “I want him and the team to win so much.” She is markedly anti-stop-winnin’-for-McKinnon
• Ovi’s advice to Maria: “Just go there and beat them.” Also, optimize scoring lines with offensive-zone deployments and carry the puck less during zone entries. Maybe he didn’t say that last part. You’ll have to read the AP article to find out.

That’s pretty much it. You can read the whole article– from which I’ve already extracted all the stuff you might care about– by following this link right here. Boom!

Photo credit: @mkirilenko

Thanks to Maria Kirilenko, we have moar child photos of Alex Ovechkin. To the left, Baby Sasha, wearing suspenders, enthusiastically high-fives a person just out of frame, probably Baby Alex Semin. To the right, baby Masha smiles pensively. This is because her pants have been pulled up chest-high and she is having circulatory problems.

If you have exquisite tastes like me, check out some more amazing photos of Ovi as a kid.

Kevin Dineen needed more than a timeout tonight. (GIF by welshhockeyfan)

The Florida Panthers opened tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals with four straight shots on Braden Holtby in the first 1:44 of game action. They looked sharp. They looked ready to get out of the Southeast division cellar. The wheels fell off 24 seconds later.

As John Erskine wound up from the Panthers’ blue line — in what he would later admit was just a dump-and-change — Florida’s starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom mis-judged Erskine’s blast and allowed the puck to squeak through his seven-hole. 1-0 Caps.

2:36 later, the Capitals would score on their very next shot, as Markstrom was caught off guard by Wojtek Wolski‘s strong net crash. Enter Scott Clemmensen.

Clemmensen gave up two more goals — one to John Carlson and another to Mike Ribeiro — in the next six shots. The Capitals received a standing ovation and headed into intermission with a 4-0 lead, their biggest goal explosion this season.

“I don’t know what to say,” Markstrom told reporters after the game. “It was terrible. I feel like I let the team down. I am there to stop pucks, and I didn’t do that tonight.”

The Capitals beat the Panthers 7-1.

Now enjoy fun facts from the first period –plus video of all  four goals.

First Period Facts

8 – The number of shots it took for the Capitals to get their first four goals of the game, a 50% shooting percentage.

10 – The number of different Capitals skaters who recorded a point in the first period (Erskine, Ovechkin, Ribeiro, Wolski, Backstrom, Brouwer, Hendricks, Oleksy, Carlson, Perreault).

190 – The number of seconds Jacob Markstrom would last in net for the Panthers.

8:10 – The amount of time that elapsed until Kevin Dineen took a timeout.

3 – The number of times Calle Johansson described the team’s 4-0 lead as “tough” during an intermission interview with Al Koken.

100% – The shooting percentage of Erskine, Wolski, Carlson, and Ribeiro at the end of the period.

0% – Markstrom’s save percentage for the night.

2 – The number of points Alex Ovechkin got in the first period. He is now one short of 700 for his career.

10 – The number of shifts Caps rookie defenseman Steve Oleksy played (8:56) in the first period, a game-high.

-3 – The plus-minus of Florida defensemen Tyson Strachan and Brian Campbell after the first twenty minutes.

148 – The total number of feet the puck traveled for the Capitals to score all four goals in the first period.

8 – The number of Panthers regulars that were out tonight due to injury.

5 – The number of times Alex Ovechkin’s fiancé Maria Kirilenko tweeted during the first period. Including this photo showing how and where she was watching the game.

John Erskine’s Goal

Wojtek Wolski’s Goal

John Carlson’s Goal

Mike Ribeiro’s Goal

Maria with her Slapshot stuffed animal. Dad gives thumbs up. (GIF by welshhockeyfan)

Attending Saturday’s Washington Capitals game, Alex Ovechkin’s fiancée Maria Kirilenko got a special treat. Ovi scored a hatty for the first time in over two years.

While CSN Washington didn’t pan to Kirilenko sitting in the lower bowl, the Devils broadcast on MSG drank from the Ovi-Kirilenko well a lot. They zoomed in on her celebrating with Ovi’s father Mikhail (giving the thumbs up) after Ovechkin’s third goal. MSG’s Deb Placey interviewed Kirilenko during the second period, after Ovi scored his first goal of the night.

Warning: The video is adorable. Risk of hurling unicorns and rainbows is likely in some patients.

Does Alex play better when you’re here? He’s already scored today.

Well, hopefully he’s playing better. When he’s on my side, watching my games, I’m definitely playing better. Today when he scored, I was so happy! It’s really nice.

You got engaged on New Years, which is a big holiday I understand in Russia. It was different because he was home for the first time in a long time on New Years Eve.

It was the first time for me as well. For a long time, I didn’t celebrate the New Year at home. It was amazing. Our family was together, you know, and it was a surprise for them. The father of Alex he was crying, and even I was crying. It was really exciting time.

Is it more nerve-racking to play your own game or watch [Ovi]?

Umm, when you play, you’re more relaxed. You just, you can’t help. You just wanna do something. Of course I feel more nervous watching.

Well I don’t think you’re going to be able to leave, since he has the goal today. Thanks so much for the visit. Congratulations to you two.

Thank you.

Placey makes a good point. Maria, please adjust your schedule and attend every game. You are crucial to our plans for the Cup.

Also this.

And this.

Maria Kirilenko reached the fourth round of the Australian Open by beating Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets. Speaking with Some Guy after the game, Maria showed off her engagement ring to Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin, by the way, is a name that interviewer seemed unable to say. Maria took it all in stride, turning an awkward interview into a pretty darn charming moment.

Nice catch, Ovi.

One piece of breaking news: Maria says the couple has not set a wedding date yet.