Classy move by Ovechkin towards Letang right before rival matchup

Earlier this week, Kris Letang finally returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins after being sidelined with a lower-body injury since Dec. 28. He also spent time in his native Montreal during his absence following the death of his father earlier this month.

The entire team flew to meet and support him at his father’s funeral, and on Thursday night, ahead of the matchup between the Penguins and the Capitals in Washington, captain Alex Ovechkin wanted to speak with Letang before puck drop.

As both players skated during the warmup, Ovechkin skated to the defenseman to give him a hug and they chatted a bit. At some point in the short exchange, we can read on Ovechkin’s lips the word condolences as we bet the Capitals superstar wanted to show his support to one of the blue liners he’s faced the most in his career.

Here is the classy move by Ovi:

It’s been a difficult season for Letang, who signed a six-year contract extension with the Penguins over the summer and has just posted four goals and 16 assists in 31 games. However, with the amount of support he’s been getting from his teammates and even here, rival players, we hope that he gets better soon.

Last night, after this classy gesture by Ovechkin, the heated rivalry got going on the ice, with the Capitals coming out on top in a 3-2 shootout win. The Caps captain scored in the victory. 

With the win, Washington moved one point ahead of Pittsburgh into the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference and within two points of the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

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