WASHINGTON — Brooks Laich could have been excused for not stopping to help two stranded people on Roosevelt Bridge Wednesday night — after all his Stanley Cup dream had just been dashed.

Laich was headed home after a crushing defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final at Verizon Center, which eliminated his heavily favoured Washington Capitals from the NHL playoffs. Yet when Laich, a native of Wawota, Sask., saw Mary Ann Wangemann and her teenage daughter Lorraine parked on the side of the bridge, something compelled him to stop and help.

The Wangemanns — who are big Capitals fans — had hit a pothole on the way home from the game and had a flat tire. They had already called for assistance but had been told it would be a while before help arrived.

“We were getting a little spooked,” Mary Ann Wangemann told D.C. Sports Bog. “You feel pretty vulnerable right there.”

Laich, who scored Washington’s only goal in the 2-1 loss, installed the spare tire and even apologized to the pair for the team’s surprise early playoff exit during the 40-minute encounter.

“He was like an angel, I’m telling you,” Mary Ann Wangemann told the blog. “Can’t say enough nice things about him.”