Things aren’t looking too hot for Alex Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals crew right now, and it’s starting to feel like the heat’s only turning up. Just hours ago, Carolina came through with a no-nonsense 4-0 shutout that left the Caps looking flat and frustrated in Game 3. Frederik Andersen was basically a brick wall in the net with 21 saves, while the Canes kept piling it on like a storm brewing from the South. Jack Roslovic had a night with a goal and a slick assist, helping Carolina grab a 2-1 series lead. Meanwhile, Logan Thompson tried his best for the Caps with 24 stops, but the goals just kept coming, and the mood on Washington’s bench? Yeah… not exactly vibes.

It all started going south when Andrei Svechnikov snuck one past the blocker after John Carlson couldn’t get there fast enough. Then Roslovic lit up the scoreboard again with a nasty power-play snipe that slid short side before anyone could blink. Eric Robinson added to the pain with a highlight-reel chip shot, and Jackson Blake finished the job with a rebound tuck that made it 4-zip. And Alex Ovechkin? He’s catching heat again for falling short against his old playoff nemesis, Brad Marchand, in the latest playoff stat race.

B/R Open Ice hit up X after the game with a little mic drop moment: “After his overtime goal last night, Brad Marchand and Alex Ovechkin have the exact same number of playoff points.” And yup, you heard that right. Both legends sitting pretty at 146 postseason points. But hold up, before folks start dragging Ovi for not showing up in crunch time, let’s sprinkle a little context on this stat party.

While Marchand might’ve tied things up with that clutch OT finish, don’t forget, Ovi hit that 146 mark in just 158 playoff games. Brad? It took him 165 to get there. So yeah, Ovi might not be lighting it up this round, but the man’s still got that cold-blooded efficiency when it counts. Just a little reminder that even when the spotlight’s a bit dimmer, greatness doesn’t exactly fade, it just waits for the next big stage.

Brad Marchand’s been on a heater lately, and it totally showed in his latest magic moment, where he slammed home his first-ever overtime goal rocking a Panthers jersey. That beauty came in at 15:27, a slick little wrist flick that tipped off Morgan Rielly and slid right past the goalie like fate itself gave it a nudge. “We battled back from a couple two-goal deficits and we just competed the way we know we can,” Marchand said, clearly riding high after that clutch moment.

Meanwhile, on the flip side of the rink, our guy Alex Ovechkin’s still got a throne of his own. Sure, he’s sitting at 146 points and still chasing Brad in playoff stats this round, but let’s not act like the man didn’t literally rewrite history by breaking Wayne Gretzky’s legendary 895 NHL regular season goals. But while Alex couldn’t lead Brad in this stat, there’s still one shiny honor where Alex did beat Brad, fair and square!

Alex Ovechkin beats Brad Marchand for one honor!

Let’s rewind to March when Alex Ovechkin and the boys were skating into the Stanley Cup playoffs like it was just another day at the office. No biggie, just the Capitals pulling up with a cool 111 points and that No. 1 Eastern Conference crown like it was tailor-made. Meanwhile, the poor Penguins were over there hitting snooze on playoff dreams for the third year straight. But hold up, this wasn’t just any ol’ game. It was Chapter 73 of the Ovi vs. Sid saga, and honestly, it never gets old. Crosby’s racked up a slick 93 points in their duels, while Ovi’s got 67 and counting. The Caps snapped their slump with a spicy 3-1 win over the Islanders, while Pittsburgh took a seat courtesy of Boston’s 4-1 shutdown.

Oh, and just before those playoff lights flickered on, Ovi threw some extra glitter in the mix by snatching a win over Brad Marchand for another shiny hockey crown. Fast forward to April 16th, and NHL on TNT hit X with a video that had the internet absolutely losing it. The clip kicked off with John Cooper throwing some shade in the most hilarious way, saying, “Okay Ovi, I know you broke some little record I guess people were talking about…” (I mean, some record? Try breaking Gretzky’s goal record, Coach). Then it got all sentimental when Cooper added, “What you’ve just won now pales in comparison to that… I brought a special guest…”

Cue Brad Marchand crashing in with that signature chaotic flair, saying, “Yeah, obviously congratulations on surpassing Gretzky’s record. This is a trophy he will never be able to take from you. So huge congratulations on being one of the three, one of the big three.” And then Ovi, cool as a cucumber, wrapped it up with, “Hey, it’s great to win the TNT award. Thank you guys. Happy. So thank you.” NHL on TNT sealed it with the caption: “From the former Mr. TNT winners to this year’s… Alex Ovechkin is the WINNER of the 2024-2025 Mr. TNT Award.” Yep—Ovi just casually flexed past Brad again.