MOSCOW, 18 Mar — The Washington Capitals hosted the St. Louis Blues in their arena as part of the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season match.

In the third period, Russian forward and Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin landed a powerful one-timer from the left faceoff circle. The puck hit St. Louis goaltender Joel Hofer in the head, causing him to lose his helmet. The referees were forced to stop the game, the goalkeeper was not injured.

Hofer is 22 years old. The Canadian goalkeeper played his first game of the 2022/23 season against Washington. The meeting ended with the victory of “Blues” with a score of 5:2. Hofer was recognized as the first star of the match and scored 32 saves out of 34 shots. Alexander Ovechkin scored an assist, made four shots on target and finished the match with a -4 utility index.