Capitals wear decal honoring Ovechkin's late father, Mikhail

The Washington Capitals will be remembering Mikhail Ovechkin, the late father of captain Alex Ovechkin, with a special helmet decal on Thursday.

The team is wearing white decals on the left side of their helmets that read "Papa Ovi" in red lettering for their game against the Anaheim Ducks at Capital One Arena.

Mikhail Ovechkin, a former professional soccer player who helped shape his son's love of hockey,
died last week
at the age of 71. Thursday is the first game Ovechkin is playing in since the funeral after flying to Moscow to be with his family.
"The Washington Capitals organization is saddened to hear of the passing of our captain Alex Ovechkin's father, Mr. Mikhail Ovechkin," the Capitals shared in a statement. "Mr. Ovechkin was a true gentleman and was such a significant and consistent presence at Capitals games and practices. With a constant smile on his face, he loved interacting with our fans and expressing the gratitude for their support of his son, of whom he was incredibly proud. Our organization's thoughts are with the Ovechkin family at this difficult time."
After Thursday's game, Ovechkin thanked his teammates and the organization for their support.
"Thanks for team, thanks for organization for support," Ovechkin said. "It was a hard time for me, for my family and for all my friends, but it's life, and it's going to be memory forever and we just have to move on."
- NHL.com Staff Writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report.