Snide Ovechkin Thanks Flyers for Playoff Spot

The Philadelphia Flyers’ season came to an end on Tuesday night, and that didn’t stop a longtime rival like Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin from taking some pot shots after the game had ended.

Because Washington had beaten the Flyers, they clinched a playoff berth. Ovechkin was quick to disingenuously thank them for pulling the goalie and allowing them to win on an empty-net goal to clinch.

“Detroit get a point and they still pull the goalie,” Ovechkin said. “They didn’t know that, but we’ll take it. Thanks, Philly.”

Flyers head coach John Tortorella made it clear that he was pulling Sam Ersson pretty much no matter what, and that he was going to stick to his plan.

“That was the right time to pull him. Didn’t know anything was going on with Detroit at that time,” Tortorella said.

And, while Ovechkin gets to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, his comments are largely misguided. The Capitals finished the season with the sixth-worst goal differential at -37; only Montreal, Columbus, Anaheim, Chicago, and San Jose were worse.

Further to that point, Washington’s -37 differential is also the worst mark for a playoff team since 1991, so it’s hard to feel like the Capitals really achieved anything, especially compared to what the Flyers did this season.

The Flyers quietly lucked out, in fact, as they’ll have a half-decent draft pick coming in the 2024 NHL Draft in addition to the other first-round pick they own from a trade with Florida.

As for Ovechkin and Washington, hopefully, they’re equally as willing to “take” a first-round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs at the hands of the first-place, President’s Trophy-winning New York Rangers that won a whopping 55 games this season.