A recognizable supporter turned up Monday as the Washington Capitals took on Florida.
Mia Khalifa, a familiar face among DC sports backers, took a spot right beside the boards within Amerant's arena while wearing the team's Stadium Series jersey from 2018.
She put up the words "chirp chirp" via Instagram and tacked on #heatedrivalry. That tag points to a much-watched television program in which a pair of pro hockey players share a clandestine relationship.
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In several clips posted to her Story on Instagram, Khalifa said spectators would see plenty of jersey No. 43 once the Olympics rolled around, and added that watching from the glass tops sitting courtside.
Khalifa, whose birthplace is Beirut in Lebanon, arrived in the U.S. while young and spent her childhood within Maryland's Montgomery County. Back in 2018, during January, she famously got the chance to meet Ovechkin, the captain in Washington, through Fanatics, and called the meeting a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In her post she said she had met her hero that night, that she'd never felt more childlike, and that being beside a figure such as @aleksandrovechkinofficial left it tough to avoid feeling humbled. She thanked Ovi for staying patient while she was such a jittery mess.
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She also handed Ovechkin a shirt from her own label that drew on the Capitals' wordmark design.
Years afterward, Ovechkin reflected on the meeting during a chat with rapper Basta.
In comments shared during 2023 over Gazgolder's YouTube channel, rendered through Google Translate, Ovechkin described her as a genuine follower of the sport. He said she keeps tabs on Washington, dropped by to snap pictures with the whole roster, and is a true hockey fan.
Over time, Khalifa has displayed several of the franchise's sweaters from her collection, a Burakovsky (Andre) one among them. She has also turned up at a great many of the club's contests, a few postseason ones amid their championship run included.
At a Lightning matchup in the Eastern Conference Final, Khalifa took a puck to the chest.
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She told the UK's Daily Star that she'd been sitting just past the glass when the puck sailed over and caught her totally off guard. She was allowed to keep it, dubbing it the greatest keepsake a hockey supporter could ever obtain: a game-used disc that comes flying your way and connects.
These days, Khalifa heads up Sheytan.World as the creative director and founder of the jewelry-and-bodywear brand she launched in 2023. Lately she's branched into fashion as well, taking to the runway in Barcelona during its fashion week and in London during the comparable showcase there.
On top of all that, she's broadly known for championing sex workers' rights, her backing of LGBTQIA+ causes, and her activism supporting Palestinian causes.
Self-described as a Twitter menace, Khalifa stays busy online and just penned a GQ piece ranking her 10 favorite films of 2025.