WASHINGTON — Under bright blue skies and a warming spring sun, fans of the Washington Capitals gathered in downtown D.C. to cheer for the 鈥渂oys of winter” on the eve of their first 2016 Stanley Cup playoff test — Thursday’s game at the Verizon Center against the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I go back to the bubble on the Beltway, the old Capital Centre,鈥� said Patrick Rayner of Aspen Hill, one of several die-hard Caps fans who turned out for an afternoon rally on the steps of the Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square. 鈥淭hey’ve always been missing a piece in past years, but this time they seem to have the entire package.”
Fans posed for pictures with Slapshot, the Capitals鈥� mascot. They chanted “Let’s go, Caps” and “Rock the Red鈥� in front of the historic building festooned with red balloons.
Cara Seligman, a recent George Mason University graduate, chose to study Caps鈥� great Alex Ovechkin in a leadership class. His attributes bode well for the team鈥檚 Stanley Cup hopes. 鈥淲ith his leadership, we got it,鈥� Seligman said. 鈥淲e totally got it.鈥�
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, wearing a red wool suit, read an official proclamation to the rally: “I, 聽the mayor of Washington D.C., do hereby proclaim April 14th in Washington as Rock the Red Day,” Bowser said to cheering fans.
Caps鈥� play-by-play announcer John Walton declared it a beautiful day, “where the boys of winter are ready to go into springtime.”
鈥淭his team is focused on winning the Stanley Cup,鈥� Walton told the crowd.
