Alex Ovechkin is about as popular as foot fungus in this region.
OK, perhaps just a bit less.
It’s kind of understandable, too.
After all, Ovechkin is the captain and face of the franchise for one of the Penguins’ top rivals, the Washington Capitals.
That he has scored 31 goals in 50 career regular-season games against the Penguins doesn’t exactly endear him to the locals, either.
But while Ovechkin can assume he’ll receive his customary reception when the Capitals visit PPG Paints Arena Feb. 2 – which is to say, he’ll be booed vigorously every time he touches the puck, blinks or exhales – he was universally applauded inside the Penguins’ dressing room recently.