Capitals' Alex Ovechkin announces death of father

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin on Wednesday announced the passing of his father, Mikhail Ovechkin. He was 71.

The announcement comes one day after the Capitals revealed their captain would be taking a leave from the team to attend to a family matter and the health of a loved one.

"Today I lost my father," Ovechkin posted to Instagram in Russian, as translated by Google. "I thank everyone for the support, bu