Classy gesture from the Capitals at the end of the game against the Kings

The scoreboard in L.A. said Washington Capitals 3, Los Angeles Kings 1, season series swept, job done. But no one left their seat when the horn sounded.

Instead, the Capitals stayed on the ice and lined up at center, waiting as Anze Kopitar circled to acknowledge the crowd one more time. The handshake line felt more like a curtain call than a routine postgame ritual.

Kopitar is in his twentieth NHL season, still the two way heartbeat of the Kings and an 11th overall pick back in 2005 who helped deliver two Stanley Cups to L.A.

His 400 plus goals and well over 1,200 points tell one story, the standing ovation told another.

Across from him was Ovechkin, the first overall pick in 2004, now the league's all time goals leader and the face of Washington hockey for two decades.

When someone with nearly 900 goals waits around just to say thanks, it hits different.

Afterward, Ovechkin told reporters, via Sammi Silber, that the message to Kopitar was simple, «Just say congrats on an amazing career we wish him all the best.» That is about as pure as it gets from one franchise pillar to another.

On the hockey side, Washington's structure again carried the day, with tight neutral zone gaps and clean exits that strangled the Kings' rush game and limited slot looks.

Tom Wilson opened the scoring, and the Caps locked it down from there for their fifth straight win.

Monumental Sports Network's broadcast caught every second, right down to the final salute and the quiet smiles between two captains who have spent half their lives dragging teams into relevance.

The regional network has turned these moments into appointment viewing for D.C. fans over the last few seasons.