“The Great 8 stands side by side with The Great One,” said the commentator as Alex Ovechkin made it 4-3 for the Capitals, scoring his 894th career goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. The crowd inside the Capital One Arena was deafening. Everyone, including Wayne Gretzky himself, gave Ovechkin a standing ovation. However, of everyone in the stadium, Connor Bedard and Co. probably weren’t having the best time.

After all, the match had been quite competitive, with the lead changing hands till Ovechkin’s second goal. But then the night would finish with the Capitals scoring yet another goal to seal the fate of the game 5-3. What’s more? That final goal came from rookie Ryan Leonard, who opened his NHL goalscoring stat book with an empty netter.

Naturally, Connor Bedard wasn’t in the best mood after the game. So when the Chicago Blackhawks lined up to greet Ovechkin, Bedard didn’t really have a smile plastered across his face. And it’s a detail that didn’t escape eagle-eyed fans. Then again Bedard, the promising NHL sophomore, has had a season to forget, with the team currently on a five-game losing streak.

In fact, the second-to-last-placed team in the NHL has won only one of their last 10 league games. Yet not everyone had a blank expression while greeting the Capitals captain. Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight seemed to have quite the laugh with Ovechkin. Maybe because, despite conceding four goals in total, Knight stopped that history-making hat trick from happening.

After conceding two goals at the hands of the Great 8, the Blackhawks netminder absolutely shut the door on Ovi. It was clear that Connor Bedard’s teammate didn’t want to go down in history as the goalie who Ovechkin beat to break Gretzky’s record. Yet, the fans couldn’t help but voice their opinion on Bedard.

Fans dissected Connor Bedard’s expression and body language

Some fans were straight-up angry with the 19-year-old talent, with one fan calling Bedard “Petulant” for the bland greeting. However, others tried to understand Bedard’s perspective. Just like one fan explained, Alex Ovechkin wasn’t the reason for his anger. Instead, the fan suggested that the 19-year-old was angry at his team’s current situation.

“He’s pissed he’s on an awful team, LOL.” commented the fan. And it’s easy to see why the fan would say it. The Blackhawks are just two points away from being the worst team in the league, and it’s not like this is an anomaly. The Hawks have steadily spiraled since their last Stanley Cup win in 2015, and the fan’s blunt statement regarding the team is unfortunately correct. As for how Bedard feels about it… well, that’s just mere speculation.

And Bedard has had a tough year, be it a loss of form or just playing for a struggling team. Last year, Connor Bedard scored 22 goals and 39 assists in 68 games. This year, though, he has 20 goals and 39 assists under his belt so far. You may be wondering how that’s much worse. The issue is that he already played 76 games this year.

He has also had a tough time with penalties. The usually calm Blackhawks’ player earned back-to-back 10-minute penalties last month, making an already bad season worse. Meanwhile, the fact that more veteran Chicago players seemed far more amicable with Ovechkin also stirred the pot. “I wanna know what Patty Maroon said to him,” commented one fan as Maroon smiled and shared a word with Ovi.

While we don’t know what they said, this could very well be the last time the two players shared the ice with one another. Connor Bedard’s veteran teammate and former Edmonton Oiler has announced he will retire after this season. So could be safe to assume the two veterans congratulated one another for being part of a history-rewriting NHL game.

Yet, some justified Bedard’s’ demeanor, saying the 19-year-old NHL star has no history with Ovechkin to talk about. While veterans like Maroon and the Great 8 have met many times, it’s not the case with Bedard, who has been playing for just two years. “He’s got no history with Ovi, he knows to move on and let others take more time with him,” commented a netizen.

Finally, some simply drew amusement from the awkward greeting. “Me saying ‘hi’ to my least favorite relative at Christmas,” joked one fan. And the night gave ice hockey fans plenty to laugh about. For example, Chicago Blackhawks studio host for WGN Radio, Charlie Roumeliotis, compared Knight’s form in the last few minutes with Buffalo Sabres goaltending legend Dominik Hasek. A little jibe at the goalie, who came into his own in the final few minutes. So, what did you think of Connor Bedard and the Hawks congratulating Ovi? Let us know in the comments below.