What does Auston Matthews have to say about Alex Ovechkin?
The Toronto Maple Leafs won't play the Washington Capitals for the rest of the regular season. As Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin chases Wayne Gretzky's record, Auston Matthews will be watching from the couch. When asked about the record chase, Matthews spoke about his appreciation for Ovechkin and gave the schedule makers a shoutout.
“There's not too many records you see guys passing Wayne Gretzky on, obviously the all-time goal record is a pretty big one. So it's just been pretty cool to witness that and play against him. He's been one of my favorite players since I was growing up. Just cool to see. Fortunately, we don't have them anymore this year, he's usually good for at least one against us.”
The Maple Leafs are 1-2 against the Capitals this season and Ovechkin has been part of the reason why. He has one goal and one assist in the two games he has played against Toronto. In 61 career games against the Maple Leafs, which spans long before Matthews' career, he has 45 goals in 61 games.
Matthews is one of the few players who have swiped multiple Rocket Richard trophies for leading the league in goals during Ovechkin's career. He won three in four years from 2020-21 to 2023-24, including 60 and 69 goal seasons. Ovechkin is four goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky, but Matthews is three goals away from hitting 400 in his career.
In their careers, Matthews scores 52 goals every 82 games and Ovechkin scores 49. That does not mean that Matthews is going to break Ovechkin's record one day. Health, longevity, and luck are all key parts of breaking the record. But if Matthews has not suffered any major injuries and piled on the goals even in COVID-shortened seasons.
The Maple Leafs continue their Atlantic Division title race against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Alex Ovechkin goes for goal number 892 on Wednesday against the Hurricanes.
