May 7, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Alex Call (17) reacts after scoring a run against the Cleveland Guardians during the second inning at Nationals Park. Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Watch: Nationals Players Share ‘Group Chug’ During Capitals NHL Playoff Game

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated May 9, 2025 5:30 PM ET

The professional teams in Washington have made it a point to support each other lately, and the Nationals are no exception.

The Nationals were off on Thursday night after wrapping up their series with the Cleveland Guardians. Washington starts a series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

In between, several players opted for a little team bonding on Thursday night. There was no perfect place to do so than at Game 2 of the NHL eastern conference semifinals series between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Caps set the players up with a suite in the arena, which was nice of them. At one point, the camera panned to the players in said suite and, well, they proceeded to do what ballplayers do on a night out at a ballgame — have a beer.

just the boys enjoying a group chug

@Nationals #ALLCAPS x #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/383Eu7YatD
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 9, 2025

Notably, relief pitcher Derek Law went shirtless for the group chug.

Why Nationals Hope to Emulate Capitals

The Capitals have had a historic season thanks to their captain, Alex Ovechkin. The 39-year-old recently passed hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time goal scorer. Ovechkin’s 895th goal came in his 1,487th career game, the same number of games as Gretzky's career total.

The Capitals are trying to win their second Stanley Cup. They won their first in 2018 with Ovechkin leading the way.

The Nationals are trying to execute their own turnaround. Washington won the World Series in 2019, the result of more than a decade of work after their move from Montreal before the 2005 seasons.

Since that World Series championship, the Nationals haven’t been back to the playoffs. In fact, they haven’t finished a season at .500 or better. In their last four full seasons the Nationals have won 65, 55, 71 and 71 games.

Washington had hoped that it could execute the start of a turnaround this year. So far, the Nationals have hovered under .500. They are 17-21 going into the Cardinals series.

But there are bright spots, starting with outfielder James Wood, who is putting together the kind of season that could earn him a spot in July’s All-Star Game. Starting pitcher MacKenzie Wood has put together some tremendous efforts, including a pair of games with 13 strikeouts.

The Capitals and the NFL’s Washington Commanders have both been to the playoffs this year. It might be a stretch for the Nationals to join them this year. But the hope is that they’ll do so soon — and then the Caps can return the favor.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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