Alex Ovechkin will play Wayne Gretzky in NHL20 to raise money for coronavirus charities Wednesday night.
While the two legendary players are friends off the ice, Ovechkin will be looking to drop Thor’s hammer on Gretzky on the digital ice.
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt interviewed Ovechkin on Tuesday during a video conference. SVP asked Ovi about the prospect of potentially losing to a 59-year-old man in videogames.
Video
The #Gr8 on @notthefakeSVP https://t.co/drAcpBKIAp pic.twitter.com/U1DPGqD5UH
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 22, 2020
“Well, I hope not,” Ovechkin said laughing. “I’m pretty sure I do my best to give him a bodycheck and make some hit. I hope we gonna drop the gloves and we see what’s going to happen.”
Ovechkin added, “I hear he practicing a lot. I’m going to do my best.”
According to the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson, Ovechkin and Gretzky played an exhibition game on Monday as a test run. Ovechkin beat Gretzky’s vintage Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers team 2-1 in a squeaker.
“The reality is I don’t think Ovi is very good at this either,” Gretzky said. “We had so much fun in the practice game, I wish they had taped it because it would probably be better than on Wednesday. It’ll be the rare exhibition game that’s better than a league game.”
“Grant still had to make an awful lot of saves,” Gretzky joked.
The game will be aired live on the Capitals Twitch at 8 PM.
TONIGHT‼️
The Great One and The Great Eight face off in #NHL20 to help raise funds for COVID-19 relief.
Be part of the cause and donate at https://t.co/q5lRlrVXp4 pic.twitter.com/aWYbVjGM0z
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 22, 2020
Screenshot courtesy of @Capitals/ESPN
