Maple Leafs' Matthews gladly 'witnessing history' in Ovechkin chase

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The long list of National Hockey League types blown away by Alex Ovechkin’s goal-record chase includes the guy who might catch him one day.

Ovechkin scored one goal in the Washington Capitals’ 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, putting him four goals short of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 for most in NHL history.

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, as you would imagine, has taken note.

“It’s pretty cool, witnessing the history and witnessing a record like that,” Matthews said. “There aren’t too many records where you see guys passing Wayne Gretzky. The all-time goal record is a pretty big one.

“(Ovechkin) has been one of my favourite players since I was growing up. Fortunately, we don’t have them anymore this year. He’s usually good for at least one against us (Ovechkin has 45 goals in 61 career games against Toronto).”

Matthews was asked whether he could put Ovechkin’s 20-year career in perspective.

“The consistency is really impressive, just finding a way to score,” Matthews said. “It’s pretty crazy to think about the consistency over the years, and him being able to stay healthy, and all the stuff that goes into having an opportunity to put yourself in that position.”

Through his first 600-plus games in the NHL, Matthews has kept pace with Ovechkin.

In 621 career games, Matthews has 397 goals; through his first 621 games in the NHL, Ovechkin scored 388 goals.

As Matthews alluded to, one difference is that where Ovechkin has been able stay healthy through the majority of his NHL career, Matthews has endured several injuries since his rookie season of 2016-17. That season, Matthews played in all 82 games, the only time he has done so in the NHL.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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