Ovechkin -300 Favorite Over Gretzky in NHL 20 The Great One vs The Great Eight Showcase
- Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and NHL all-time scoring leader Wayne Gretzky are facing off in an NHL 20 tournament for charitable causes
- Ovechkin is the prohibitive -300 odds-on favorite in the opening line. Should you take the Great One as an underdog?
- Analysis of the odds, along with picks and predictions can be found in the following story
Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky was an emerging storyline as the 2019-20 NHL season unfolded. This time, it’s about Gretzky chasing down Ovechkin.
The Great One contacted the Washington Capitals and set the wheels in motion to arrange a charity NHL 20 video game tournament between the NHL’s all-time scoring leader and the fellow who has the record in his sights.
Gretzky and Ovechkin will face off in a best-of-three series. Billing it as the Great One vs the Great Eight Showcase, the betting lines on this affair are leaning heavily toward the much younger Ovechkin.
Ovi is a prohibitive -300 odds-on favorite in the opening line. Bettors will get +200 odds on Gretzky in this betting market.
Odds To Win Great One vs Great Eight Showcase
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alex Ovechkin | -300 |
| Wayne Gretzky | +200 |
Odds taken April 19th.
Playing on an Xbox, the tourney is slated for April 22nd at 8 pm EST. They’ll be broadcasting it live on the Capitals Twitch stream.
During the live stream, they’ll be accepting donations to the Edmonton Food Bank and MSE Foundation’s Feeding the Frontlines.
Gretzky Was Inspired
The idea of this competition came to Gretzky after watching an Instagram video of Ovechkin playing NHL 20 by himself, his young son Sergei seated in his lap as he worked the controller.
Alex Ovechkin, Wayne Gretzky to face off in NHL 20 charity fundraiser https://t.co/SbhQHDzqeD pic.twitter.com/G4cBs8EpBD
— NBC ProHockeyTalk (@ProHockeyTalk) April 16, 2020
Gretzky knew Capitals’ vice president of communications Sergey Kocharov from their time together with the Arizona Coyotes, so he contacted Kocharov with his proposal.
The Great One saw it as an opportunity for two of the game’s greatest scorers to entertain fans starving for hockey action. At the same time, they’ll raise money for worthy causes to help people during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Great Eight Chasing Great One
The suspension of the NHL season also figures to impact Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky’s NHL goal-scoring mark. The Great One netted an NHL-record 894 goals.
This season, Ovechkin surpassed the 700-goal plateau. He’s currently idling at 706 goals.
The next edition of #HockeyAtHome features Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin in their first-ever joint sit-down interview. It premieres April 20 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, SN and the NHL's Facebook, IGTV and YouTube platforms. https://t.co/y0BaWC3kyv
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) April 16, 2020
Ovechkin was also two tallies shy of htting 50 for a record-tying ninth time during his NHL career.
Any Chance For Gretzky Against Ovechkin?
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but can an old dog master video game technology?
In video game terms, Ovechkin is no spring chicken at 34. But he’s a pup in comparison to Gretzky, who turned 59 in January. Gretzky is so old he was once the face of a table hockey game.
Classic ! Wayne Gretzky table hockey game with box and complete game ! Very cool ! In store now ! pic.twitter.com/9sgNLWMTDi
— Joe Daley's Sports & Framing (@JoeDaleySports) April 13, 2015
Is there any reason to expect Gretzky has a chance in this competition? Well, you don’t get called the Great One because you have a history of finishing second. He’s not entering into this event to be embarrassed.
Take the price and play the upset.
Pick: Wayne Gretzky (+200).
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
