Let's Celebrate Ovi, Not Demonize Pang

By: Jonathan Howard, Staff Writer
March 6, 2025

The NFL combine just wrapped up and the draft is a month away. March Madness is ready to heat up with conference tournaments underway and selection Sunday and the NCAA Tournament just around the corner. But with that said, the hottest sports topic in the country right now comes from … hockey.

Coming off the 4 Nations Face-Off in which ESPN drew its biggest NHL viewership in the network’s history, a fun story was dropped in the nation’s lap on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. In the midst of the Washington Capitals 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers, TNT put together a highlight package that was meant to demonstrate the multiple ways in which Alex Ovechkin has scored this season in his chase for Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record. However, in discussing it, TNT announcer Darren Pang referenced Ovechkin – who is well known for scoring from “his office” at the top of the left faceoff circle – as a “one-trick pony.”

The Reaction to Pang

The advertising agency responsible for Southwest Airlines’ “Want to Get Away?” campaign could not have drawn up a better moment. A simple Google search of Darren Pang plus “one-trick pony” turned up stories from media outlets of all shapes and sizes venting their outrage. Noted Washington area media personality Chick Hernandez weighed in on X. The national, but Washington, D.C.-based radio show The Sports Junkies dedicated a segment to it, and even managed to bring Pang on to explain the call. Even with his explanation, in which he attempted to give better context – reactions were not great.

But Enough About Pang … Let’s Talk Ovi!

Darren Pang’s analysis might have provided a fun talk show headline for the day, but let’s keep the focus where it should be – on Ovechkin. As of the March 5 win over the Rangers, the Russian Machine is just nine scores away from tying and 10 from breaking Gretzky’s record of 894 goals. He’s already scored more (32 as of March 5th) than he did all of last season despite missing several games due to injury. The minutes he missed due to injury have influence here, but he’s tracking to finish the season with the highest shooting percentage of his career (currently 18.2 percent, previous high of 15.4 in 2019-2020) and the highest plus/minus (currently +16) since the 2015-2016 season when he finished +21.

Ovechkin isn’t just existing in the twilight of his career while he chases down Gretzky’s record. He’s thriving. As Pang and the TNT highlights were ultimately trying to show, the Capitals’ winger is finding more and new ways to contribute as a goal scorer while helping lead his team to the top of the Metropolitan Division standings. He could easily sit back and stay home in his office where he’s most comfortable and knock slapshots past goalies. Instead, he’s cleaning up around the net and scoring from multiple sides and areas of the ice.

Ovechkin’s actions – not just his numbers – put him up there with some of the greats in all of sports. When you look at the best athletes across multiple generations, the ones who made the greatest impact are the ones that find ways to contribute where the team needs it the most – not just where they’re most comfortable. He’s not a home run hitter simply biding his time as a designated hitter, or a shooter standing in the corner waiting for a pass to knock down a 3-pointer. He’s actively mixing it up. In the world of American sports, THAT puts him up there with the likes of James, Jordan and Brady more than any statistic can.

Final Thoughts

Barring injury, it’s not a matter of if Ovechkin breaks Gretzky’s record, but when. With 20 regular-season games remaining and five multi-goal games under his belt (including a hat trick last month), Ovi has plenty of time and opportunities to pass The Great One. Make sure to check out Versus Sports Simulator to see how Ovechkin and the Capitals are likely to fare over the remainder of the season.