Ovechkin drops the gloves, Bradley fights instead (Photo © AP Photo)

Russian superstar Alexander Ovechkin was really close to battle in another NHL fight, but Matt Bradley stole him the scene and fought instead of him during the third period of the Tuesday’s match between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The first brawl was started by Stewe Downie after a clean hit by Ovechkin, but it was quickly stopped by the refs, who gave the two players a minor penalty. When they got out of the penalty box Ovechkin was ready to go as he dropped the gloves and the helmet too, but when he and Downie were approaching each other, Matt Bradley intervened and started fighting Downie himself, not allowing his captain to fight.

“I didn’t see him actually,” said Ovechkin after the match to the Washington Post. “So I dropped my helmet, dropped my gloves, ready to fight, and Brads jumped in the fight for me. He do a great job.”

“We had a guy like that going after our best player, obviously we can’t let that happen,” Bradley stated to the Washington Post. “I’ll bet they would do the exact same thing if someone was squaring off with Stamkos. I mean, you don’t let guys like that go after your best players, and he’s our best player. And no matter who it is, we’re not gonna allow someone like Downie to go after him.”

Below is the video of the fight.