“I must break head you.”

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin didn’t score in Dynamo Moscow’s 4-3 shootout win over Salavat Yulaev on Saturday,  but he did have eight shots on goal in 22:09 on ice. Twice he shot for Dynamo in the skills competition and twice he came up empty. But that’s okay. The coolest part of today’s game was what actually happened before it, as the Russian language television channel TNV captured Ovi and his Dynamo teammates performing a pre-game ritual with which we Capitals fans should be pretty darn familiar.

Ovechkin, in his constricting (see below) bright, red Capitals shorts, kicked around the soccer ball outside of the locker rooms in Kazan with his Dynamo teammates, who were all in their dark blue team-issued sweats.

Yeah, maybe not as cool as that time Ovi played with Fedorov, Semin, Backstrom, Green, and David Steckel before a game in 2008-09 — or anytime he played soccer shirtless, but hey, it’s still pretty fun.

Now let’s do some screenshots!

Tongue out like he’s Michael Jordan.

Either a header or a neck cradle.

Definitely a header.

Wardrobe malfunction.

Again with the tongue.

Big knee.

S/T to Alex Ovetjkin who posted the video first.

hahahahah goal)))) (Photo credit: dynamo.ru)

Despite recording a point in his first-ever KHL game, Alex Ovechkin missed on numerous opportunities to score in Dynamo Moscow’s 7-2 blowout victory on Thursday. On Sunday, Ovechkin showed why he’s one of the world’s most fearsome shooters, immediately recording a goal in the first period of Dynamo’s loss to SKA St. Petersburg. It was the Russian machine’s first regular season tally in Russia since 2005.

GIFs of his goal are below the jump.

Created by @CarrotBazooka. Check out her other two GIFs of the goal here and here.

In the fifteenth minute of the first period, Dynamo’s Filip Novak raced into SKA’s offensive zone during a powerplay. As several SKA defenders converged on him, he passed to Ovechkin who rocketed home a one-timer past SKA goaltender Evgeny Ivannikov. Excitedly, Ovechkin, who had ELEVEN shots on goal in 23:56 of ice time today, dashed to the side boards and celebrated the PPG with his teammates.

SKA was too much for Dynamo though. Ilya Kovalchuk (the newly-named captain) got an assist in his first KHL game and Maxim Afinogenov scored the game-winner in the second period. Viktor Tikhonov also added a powerplay goal in the third period to seal it.

Dynamo will next play Wednesday against Аk Bars.

Additional Photos and Video

Photo credit: dynamo.ru

Photo credit: ria.ru

Ovechkin and Kovalchuk line-up during a face-off. (Photo credit: ria.ru)

Highlights of the game from championat.ru.

Ovechkin’s press conference after the game via championat.ru