Photo: NHL

The big news from last night wasn’t that the Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 or that they tallied their franchise-record 55th win of the season. No, the Ovechkin Beard Guy returned! With his beard hair sculpted in a number eight (which included a circle!), the Ovechbeard grower was featured on the NHL’s Instagram page. “Beard goals,” the NHL wrote.

But this beautifully bearded human has a name. It’s Eric Brooks. We spoke to Eric several years ago and we learned that he’s a Caps fan from Rockville, Maryland who now lives in Colorado. He’s an illustrator and assistant brewer at Verboten brewery. He also competes in beard competitions because of course he does.

Had a fun time last night at the Pepsi Center watching my @washcaps win! pic.twitter.com/PRDPq8Ui3I — Eric Brooks (@Ovechbeard_21) April 2, 2016

For the Caps to go big during the postseason, they will need fans who will go big with them. It’s good to know we can count Eric and his entire family in our ranks.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps at Avs