Capitals say Ovechkin was asked to appear in United Russia campaign video
The Washington Capitals said Alexander Ovechkin was asked to take part in a video campaign for United Russia, the party backed by Vladimir Putin, while he was in Russia this summer. The NHL's all-time leading scorer appears behind Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the ad, drawing criticism including from Czech goaltender Dominik Hasek as Russia heads to a parliamentary election on September 18-20.