Alex Ovechkin had a humorous response to Patrik Laine being called a "Young Ovi"

BarDown Staff

Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

Monday night, the NHL's top two goal scorers square off as the Jets take on the Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin and Patrik Laine are tied for the league lead in goals with 40 and over his last five games, Laine has scored 9 goals. Ahead of what is a highly anticipated matchup, Ovi was asked about the Laine comparisons and gave a playful, but awesome answer.

Ovechkin is asked if he sees a “young Ovi” in Laine. “I’m still young,” Ovechkin says back.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 12, 2018

Ovechkin's not wrong. He's only 32-years-old, but compared to Laine (who doesn't turn 20 until April 19th), Ovi is much, much older. Washington's captain also complimented Laine while answering questions about him before their game.

Alex Ovechkin: "He's a great talent and still young and still can produce lots of dangerous for different teams."
Patrik Laine: "He's been my biggest idol when I was growing up, so it's pretty unreal to hear something like that, him talking about me. "
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) March 12, 2018

“Obviously, his shot is pretty amazing.” — #Caps captain Alex Ovechkin on #Jets teenager Patrik Laine. They are tied atop the NHL in goals with 40 entering tonight’s head-to-head matchup. #CapsJets pic.twitter.com/OqUPlCifkx
— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) March 12, 2018

For Laine (who grew up idolizing Ovi), it must be incredible to be on the receiving end of such high praise from the greatest goal scorer of this generation.

Speaking of the greatest goal scorer of this generation, Laine is looking to follow in his footsteps and he's well on his way to doing so in his first two seasons in the NHL.

Make it 40 on the season for @nhljets forward Patrik Laine. The Finn is on fire 🔥!

A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on Mar 10, 2018 at 12:30pm PST