The National Hockey League (NHL) club has adopted a ten-week-old Labrador puppy named Captain for training.
The puppy was presented to fans of the club by the team captain of the Washington Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin.
Captain's debut took place during the match between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes (2-3), on the night of October 5th at 11 p.m. GMT.
Meanwhile, the team's new service dog got its own special Twitter account so that fans can follow the pup's life.
Within 14-16 months, the Labrador will undergo specialised training and socialisation. Hockey players, fans and employees of the Washington Capitals will help him in this.
The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup last year for the first time in history, and Ovechkin became the first Russian with the rank of a team captain to ever win the cup. The Washington Capitals claimed a 4-3 victory in the final playoff match over the Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team.
Besides Ovechkin, two more Russian players play for the Capitals, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov.