Sunday’s matchup between the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders presented hockey fans with a once-in-a-lifetime moment when Alexander Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s career goal record. And on Monday, Monumental Sports Network, the broadcast home of the Capitals, shared some insight into how the moment came to be behind-the-scenes in the control room.
While the likes of play-by-play broadcasters Joe Beninati and Kenny Albert rightfully received wide praise for their respective calls on Ovechkin’s goal, those behind-the-scenes in the control room largely go unrecognized.
However, that changed on Monday when Monumental Sports Network showed some love to everyone in the control room by sharing a video of their reaction to the goal on social media. The celebration was short-lived before the crew needed to make crucial decisions on how to best capture the record-setting moment for television.
While the view from the control room looked a bit frantic, the broadcast of the goal painted a very different story, capturing shots of the fans, Wayne Gretzky in attendance, and Ovechkin’s family to perfectly showcase just how important the moment truly was.
Many in the sports media industry took notice of the control room video and gave the Monumental Sports Network production team their flowers for their efforts in making Ovechkin’s goal a moment to remember.
“Our Capitals game crew is the best in the business,” wrote Monumental Sports Network producer Shaun Salehi in a post on X. “So thrilled for them to all be a part of yesterday’s amazing moment and knew they would CRUSH it!”
“I can’t tell you how much I love this on multiple levels,” wrote Dan Schutte, a news anchor at CBS 19 News in Charlottesville, Virginia. “This is great directing and technical directing.”
“This is the coolest thing,” wrote Matt Venezia, a former Monumental Sports Network reporter and current anchor at WAFB 9 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Grateful to have been a part of Monumental Sports Network for a short time. Such a professional job!”
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.