In the NHL 20 battle between The Great One and The Great Eight plenty of money was raised for important causes.
The NHL 20 charity showdown between Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin ended in a tie, but more importantly over $40,000 was raised for the Edmonton Food Bank and Monument Sports and Entertainment’s “Feeding the Frontlines” fund, which provides meals to those in the medical community.
Fans were encouraged to donate during the two games and Gretzky and Ovechkin matched the amount, pushing the final tally to $41,041.67.
The two NHL greats faced off on the Capitals’ Twitch channel Wednesday night, with Gretzky aided by his sons, Trevor and Ty, and Ovechkin getting help from John “JohnWayne” Casgranda, who is part of the Capitals’ esports brand Caps Gaming.
Ovi scoring #NHL20 goals is as exciting as his real ones 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/tdmCWmtSSu
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) April 23, 2020
It was Gretzky taking Game 1 in overtime, 5-4, and Ovechkin winning a shortened Game 2, 4-1. Both decided not to play a deciding third game. (A rage quit from Wayne? Nah.)
“We both are not very good at this game, but what a great cause, when everybody’s so down and out,” said Gretzky, via NHL.com. “So, a fun night, and hopefully everybody’s having a little bit of enjoyment laughing at us.”
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.