Getty Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
A star-studded matchup between two of the NHL’s most prolific goal scorers lived up to its billing as Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs cruised to a 7-3 victory over Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on March 20.
Matthews scored two goals to increase his league-high season total to 57 and added three assists to match his NHL career high of five points in a single game. Ovechkin also scored two goals to increase his career total to 845, moving him within 50 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.
“It’s crazy to think that Alex can break Wayne’s record, potentially, hopefully, and then Auston’s going to be sniffing at that, too,” Maple Leafs center Max Domi said during his postgame media availability. “It’s really special for guys like us to be able to play on the same ice surface as those guys and have fun and enjoy the moment, because those are two generational talents and it’s great to see them go head-to-head like that.”
Matthews is Chasing the NHL’s First 70-Goal Season in More Than 3 Decades
Matthews scored his first goal against Washington off the opening face-off, just 16 seconds into the game. He scored again off a point shot late in the second period to increase Toronto’s lead to 3-1 and even appeared to record his seventh hat trick of the season with a third goal later in the frame, but it was called back after a successful offside challenge.
With 56th and 57th goals on Wednesday, Matthews moved within three of reaching 60 for the second time in three seasons. He is also 13 away from becoming the first player to score 70 since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny each scored 76 during the 1992-93 season.
“It’s great,” Ovechkin said of Matthews after the game. “I’m happy for him. Hope he gets it, maybe 70.”
The 26-year-old center is currently on pace to finish the season with 68 goals, which would be the most by an NHL player since Ovechkin scored 65 during his age-22 season in 2007-08.
Ovechkin is 50 Goals Away from Breaking Gretzky’s All-Time Record
Ovechkin got the Capitals on the board midway through the second period and scored again to pull them within a point in the third, but the Maple Leafs proceeded to score three unanswered to complete the rout.
With just eight goals in his 43 games, Ovechkin looked as though he may be slowing down in his 19th NHL season. But the 38-year-old left wing appears to have returned to form with five goals in his last three games and 15 in his last 22 games to bring his season total up to 23. He has reached the 20-goal mark for the 19th consecutive season and is one of just three players in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
Alex Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to record at least 19 straight 20-goal seasons, joining Gordie Howe (22) and Brendan Shanahan (19).
“He’s the greatest goal-scorer of all time,” Matthews said of Ovechkin after the game. “So, it’s always fun to play against him still and still watch him get it done and the excitement and passion he gets when he scores goals. Obviously, we’d like to see him not score against us, but when you’re that good, you’re bound to get opportunities and he makes good on them most of the time.”
Neither Matthews nor Ovechkin have shown any signs of slowing down in their respective pursuits of history, which is good news for their teams down the stretch as they push toward the playoffs. The Maple Leafs are firmly in third place in the Atlantic Division, while the Capitals remain one point behind the Detroit Red Wings in their chase of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.