"Penny, who earlier in the night participated in a sometimes nervous ceremonial puck drop, arrived with Mary Beth Gosnell from the American Eagle Foundation calmly perched on her handler's forearm. "Holy s***," one player can be heard saying as the pair made their entrance into the team's newly renovated room. "What's her name?" someone asks. "Penny," replies Mary Beth."
"Brandon Duhaime appears to immediately regret his decision as Penny looks over as he approaches. "You don't trust me with her?" Mary Beth says to a freaked-out Duhaime, who eyes the bird suspiciously and has his fists clenched as if he were preparing for the fight of his life. "Oh, she's staring at you, man," Tom Wilson observes. "She's staring you down, man," Nic Dowd says to his linemate. And then it happens. The group of fearless hockey players back up in unison as Penny shakes her head and opens her beak. "Ohhhh!" Dowd replies. "YO, WOAH," Duhaime says, even more freaked out. "Woah woah woah." Penny further adjusts herself. "She's just shaking her feathers out," explains Mary Beth."
The Washington Capitals beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 and brought a live bald eagle named Penny into the locker room after the game. Penny arrived with handler Mary Beth Gosnell from the American Eagle Foundation after taking part in a ceremonial puck drop earlier in the night. Players reacted with excitement, surprise, and some apprehension, shouting and asking the eagle's name and briefly mishearing it as "Kenny." Dylan Strome joked the team needed the bird at every game. Strome recorded a season-high four points and Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season, his 898th career goal. Several players took photos and backed up when Penny shook and opened her beak, while the handler explained the eagle was simply shaking her feathers.
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