- The Hurricanes gifted Alex Ovechkin a forklift on his farewell tour
- The Capitals shared the photo before Tuesday’s game in Raleigh
- Read below for more on Ovechkin’s final regular-season game in Carolina
The Hurricanes gave Alex Ovechkin a forklift.
The Capitals shared a photo of Ovechkin sitting in the yellow lift before Tuesday night’s game in Raleigh. The team captioned it, “Kind gesture here, as the Canes have gifted Ovi a forklift as part of his farewell tour.”
Take a look at the photo:
It was the first gag of the tour. Ovechkin told his teammates on Oct. 5 that this will be his final NHL season, and Tuesday was his last regular-season game at Lenovo Center.
Carolina is a fitting place to start. The Capitals have a long history here, and Ovechkin has more points against the Hurricanes than any other team, with 111 in 97 games.
He was asked after the morning skate what the game meant to him.
“Yeah, obviously I get drafted here,” Ovechkin said. “This is the first road game after I announced it’s going to be my last year. I have such great memories here, drafted first overall. And it’s a special place for me.”
Washington took him first overall in June 2004. He scored his first career road goal against the Hurricanes on Oct. 12, 2005, in a 7-2 loss.
Carolina fans gave him a nice ovation early in the game, according to the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy live blog. The Hurricanes entered at 5-1-1 and the Capitals at 3-2. Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season on Sunday in a 5-3 loss to the Kraken.
We already covered the farewell tour opening in Carolina, and the gifts figure to keep coming. Other teams have a whole season to top a forklift.
