Alex Ovechkin already has a lot of jobs, but he appeared to add another one during the Capitals-Lightning game.
When John Carlson’s McNuggets Minute goal in the first period was challenged for being offside, Ovechkin leaned over from his perch at the Capitals bench to look at the replays on Darren Pang’s monitor.
It was there that Ovechkin began shouting his, uh, analysis on why the goal should absolutely count.
TNT joked on its NHL Twitter account, “Our newest rules analyst: Alex Ovechkin.”
#ALLCAPS Ovechkin giving smiles to the camera during the review of the offsides. pic.twitter.com/e1aQ1kjBYi
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) April 7, 2022
Ovechkin smiled and waved when TNT cameras began training in on him.
gooooooood morning pic.twitter.com/KAXP2tmgMv
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 7, 2022
“Ovi thinks it’s a goal because the skate of Carlson was in the air but still long enough there,” Pang said. “Now we’ve got the NHL camera here. The skate’s up…”
“It’s good!” Ovechkin can be heard shouting.
“Ovi says it’s good,” Pang reported back.
Ultimately, the goal was disallowed because the video showed, pretty conclusively, it was offside.
“He was selling it wasn’t he?” Brendan Burke asked.
“Yeah, because when they said no goal he gave that Cheshire Cat look,” Pang replied laughing.
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) April 7, 2022
In the third period, Ovechkin got more air time as he was sitting on the top of the bench beside Pang. Burke called the Capitals captain the fourth member of our broadcast team.
#ALLCAPS Ovi does not use wax or baby powder, confirmed pic.twitter.com/dVEkWLMcpy
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) April 7, 2022
“I was actually asking him if he put wax on the tape of his stick and he said no,” Pang said. “Baby powder like Gretzky? He said, ‘No, no. No baby powder.'”
Screenshot: TNT
