“I’m going to battle my b*tt off to return as soon as I can,” said iconic Washington Capitals announcer Craig Laughlin in February. The longtime Capitals announcer was due for heart surgery when he made this statement, one of his biggest motivations to get back in the booth was to call the play-by-play when Alex Ovechkin beat Wayne Gretzky’s record. That is how much the Great 8’s record chase means to everyone associated with the Capitals.
Now that dream is just 4 goals away. With Ovechkin requiring only three goals to equal The Great One’s coveted record, broadcasters like ESPN, truTV, MAX, and more have gone one step further. “The OviCast, an exclusive iso-cam on Alex Ovechkin,” wrote B/R Open Ice while posting a game. Now, you may think fans would love the extra attention on the man about to break arguably the most glamorous NHL record, right? Well, apparently not.
Since you can’t keep the camera on Ovechkin and miss out on the rest of the action, the broadcasters have resorted to split-screen coverage. And this has immediately turned into a gripe for many fans. “Wanted to watch a hockey game, not Ovi all night,” complained one fan who found it quite hard to get past the clutter of the split-screen telecast.
Follow the Gr8 Chase ALL NIGHT LONG on the OviCast, an exclusive iso-cam on Alex Ovechkin, airing now on truTV and MAX pic.twitter.com/GIW2mFxMwY
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 2, 2025
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