Darren Pang’s ‘one-trick pony’ Alex Ovechkin comment sparks Capitals outrage

Darren Pang made what he thought was an innocuous comment about Alex Ovechkin during Wednesday’s TNT broadcast of the Rangers-Capitals game.

He awoke Thursday morning surprised he had sparked outrage in the nation’s capital.

During the first period of a 3-2 Capitals overtime win at MSG, Pang made the point that while Ovechkin has most often scored goals from his “office” near the hash marks in the left circle, the coaches have moved the 39-year-old around the ice this season as he chases Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal-scoring record.

Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal in the third period to tie the game and move within nine of tying Gretzky.

“I give Spencer Carbery and his coaching staff an awful lot of credit,” said Pang, the former Blackhawks goalie and longtime broadcaster. “We all know that Alex Ovechkin’s been a bit of a one-trick pony throughout his NHL career, but that has not been the case [this season].”

The analysis was accompanied by a video package showing Ovechkin scoring goals from different parts of the ice, but some viewers were hyper focused on the “one-trick pony” line.