“I’m going to battle my b*tt off to return as soon as I can,” said iconic Washington Capitals announcer Craig Laughlin in February. The longtime Capitals announcer was due for heart surgery when he made this statement, one of his biggest motivations to get back in the booth was to call the play-by-play when Alex Ovechkin beat Wayne Gretzky’s record. That is how much the Great 8’s record chase means to everyone associated with the Capitals.

Now that dream is just 4 goals away. With Ovechkin requiring only three goals to equal The Great One’s coveted record, broadcasters like ESPN, truTV, MAX, and more have gone one step further. “The OviCast, an exclusive iso-cam on Alex Ovechkin,” wrote B/R Open Ice while posting a game. Now, you may think fans would love the extra attention on the man about to break arguably the most glamorous NHL record, right? Well, apparently not.

Since you can’t keep the camera on Ovechkin and miss out on the rest of the action, the broadcasters have resorted to split-screen coverage. And this has immediately turned into a gripe for many fans. “Wanted to watch a hockey game, not Ovi all night,” complained one fan who found it quite hard to get past the clutter of the split-screen telecast.

Ice hockey sometimes becomes difficult to follow, even when the broadcast quality is top-notch. Sometimes the puck is moving just a little too fast for your eyes to keep track. That’s why new details often emerge in the slow-motion replay, and why fans often end up disagreeing with the official’s call on the ice. So, giving half of the screen space to Alex Ovechkin has added to the clutter.

ESPN+ was the first to announce the OviCast, an alternate telecast experience for five games. The first of those alternate telecasts happened when the Capitals took on the Minnesota Wild, with four more to go as per Deadline. While that trend seemed to have caught on with broadcast networks, not all fans seem to be enjoying them.

Fans had issues with the Alex Ovechkin exclusive camera

The OviCast footage B/R Open Ice gave the fans a glimpse of how the isometric camera works. They also wrote “Follow the Gr8 Chase ALL NIGHT LONG,” in their caption. The telecast lived up to those words as the camera followed Ovechkin all the way to the bench. However, the fans had issues with it. “Plz tell me it goes full screen while he’s on the bench, LMAO,” one fan asked.

Another fan sang the same tune but with a hefty dose of sarcasm. “Pro Tip: You don’t need to keep the camera on Ovi while he’s on the bench. As good as he is, it’s unlikely he will score from there… And it wouldn’t count anyway,” commented the fan without holding back. The issue with one side of the screen even when Alex Ovechkin was on the ice was that fans had to see two completely different streams on their screen.

Some were still ok with the one zoomed-in and one bird’s-eye view of Ovechkin when he was part of the action. However, during the times the team captain was not part of the action, those watching found it difficult to focus on the part of the screen showing the full game. “Worst TV coverage. STOP THE ANNOYING SPLIT SCREEN. Even when he’s on the bench???” one enraged fan vented in the comments section.

Deadline noted that the traditional broadcast of the OviCast games will be available on Disney’s platforms. However, from the reaction of the fans, it may be safe to assume that not everyone has access to the Disney streams. Even those more receptive to the idea didn’t think they could handle so many games with the Alex Ovechkin cam.

“This is honestly the most annoying way to watch this game,” another fan echoed the general sentiment. However, the hockey fan did add that such a format would be fine, “When he gets to the last one.” Yet, the fact that channels are going above and beyond to highlight the countdown of the Capitals captain beating The Great One’s record just proved the importance of the milestone.

It’s a massive honor to become the NHL‘s all-time highest goalscorer, and the OviCast is far from the only special nod to the ‘Gr8 Chase’. Official goal counters have popped up across Washington, DC, and even artists are dedicating murals to the Great 8. Yet, what are your views on the split-screen telecast? Write your views in the comments.