Red Wings' Svechnikov has brother's back after Ovechkin beat-down

Alexander Ovechkin reminded everyone Monday night that he can throw down.

We all know Ovechkin is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the history of hockey. But sometimes we forget how strong he is and that he can enter beast mode at the flip of a switch to do more than score goals.

Carolina Hurricanes rookie Andrei Svechnikov found out about this the hard way when he challenged Ovechkin during Game 3 of the Hurricanes' playoff series against the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin gave him a prompt beat-down:

Svechnikov appeared to be out cold on the ice. He's not expected to play in Game 4. It was a scary sight, and it's probably not something Ovechkin wanted to have happen.

A quick scroll through social media will show you different stances on the fight. Ovechkin is being criticized for beating up on a rookie who is clearly overmatched. However, you can't argue Svechnikov didn't initiate this scrap. He may have been betting that Ovechkin wouldn't take him up on it, and now he's probably regretting that decision.

Svechnikov's older brother, Detroit Red Wings forward Evgeny Svechnikov, took to social media, too. He called out Ovechkin with this ominous Instagram story post:

Well, good luck with that.

Evgeny has to find his way back into the Red Wings lineup first. The 19th overall draft pick from 2015 missed the entire 2018-19 season after undergoing knee surgery for an injury he suffered during the preseason. 

When he does get back into the lineup, everyone needs to earmark his first game against the Washington Capitals.

By the way, this apparently was the first fight between two Russian players during a Stanley Cup playoff game.