Alex Ovechkin and Bruce Boudreau led teams will once again play each other Friday at Rogers Arena. Boudreau is now in his first year as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks while Ovechkin enters tonight’s game one goal shy of passing Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL’s all-time goals list.

Boudreau has been around Ovechkin since the start of the legend’s NHL career during the 2005-06 season. Boudreau, the then head coach of the Capitals’ AHL-affiliated Hershey Bears, was promoted to the Caps’ top coaching job two seasons later in 2007-08, leading Washington to the playoffs for the first time since the rebuild. Boudreau would also help push Ovechkin to the biggest offensive seasons of his career.

Boudreau’s relationship with Ovi is close and warm, but they also know how to push each other’s buttons.

“I was really hoping he scored [Wednesday against Edmonton]. Let’s put it that way,” Boudreau said on Thursday after a Canucks’ optional skate. “He’s going to look at me tomorrow and he’s gonna go, ‘I’m gonna score tonight.’ You know he’s going to do that. It’s tough, you know, because he’s one of the greatest players of all time. It’s tough to stop one of the greatest players of all time. So I just hope to try and contain him and we’ll see where it goes.”

Boudreau was asked what that conversation is like during warmups and if Ovechkin gives him a wink.

“Yeah. That’ll happen for sure,” Boudreau said. “He’ll come over between the benches and he’ll look while he’s squirting his water.

Boudreau then did his best Russian accent.

“He’s gonna just look at me and go, ‘I score tonight.’ I’ll turn around and I won’t acknowledge him because he knows it bugs me. That’s the way it’ll go.”

Sportsnet captured part of the interaction last time before the two teams’ last game against each other in Washington on January 16.

Coach taking on his former squad.
Puck is ⬇️ in DC.

📺 Sportsnet Pacific
📻 Sportsnet 650 pic.twitter.com/u2OV11nhga

— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 16, 2022

Boudreau admitted in the conversation that “it’s always fun” watching Ovechkin play.

“He gets his chances no matter what,” Boudreau said. “When we played them in Washington, he had two Grade A’s that Demko made incredible saves on. Last night, I thought he had two open nets for sure that he was gonna score on and he didn’t score on them. He’s gonna get his looks. I’ve watched him for 17 years. No matter how good or bad he looks in that game, he’s gonna get opportunities to score – it’s just the nature of Alex Ovechkin.”

Boudreau was also asked if he thought any potential boos Ovechkin would receive in Vancouver would affect him.

“I don’t think anything, once the game starts, has an impact on Alex,” Boudreau said. “He’ll play hard everywhere he goes. That’s just the nature of him.”

Screenshot: Vancouver Canucks/NHL.com