TORONTO – No wonder the kid from Arizona rocked the yellow laces just like him.
An impressionable, nine-year-old Auston Matthews was in the building that night in Phoenix when Alex Ovechkin burst up-ice against the boy’s favourite team. When he curled, dragged, deked, spun, tumbled on his back, and scooped a blind, backhanded goal that would go down as one of the most indelible ones the sport has ever seen:
“It seems like it’s just automatic for him, to be honest,” Matthews said Thursday morning, still marvelling at Ovechkin’s knack for lighting the lamp.
“Every season he’s out there, he just scores goals. And he knows how to score. And his shot’s probably the best in the game. He is able to sit in that spot a lot of the time, and you know it’s coming, and you still can’t stop it.
“What he has been able to do year after year is obviously impressive and just a testament to his ability.”
As Ovechkin — still humming with 46 goals at age 36 — chases both his ninth 50-goal campaign and Wayne Gretzky’s all-time career record, Matthews is tracking down something one of his boyhood heroes has never done.
Ovechkin’s greatest single-season goal tally is 65, which he accomplished with 82 games played in 2007-08.
Matthews enters Thursday’s head-to-head match with 58 and is pumping pucks past goalies at a 66-goal pace for 77 games played (provided he suits up for all nine of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ remaining games).
In short: Matthews could pass Ovechkin for most goals scored in a single season this century.
“He’s the hottest guy in the league,” Washington defenceman John Carlson says. “The great thing about him is he scores goals from everywhere, in every kind of fashion, and he’s a dangerous threat no matter where he is.”
Both are big athletes who set up shop on the power-play flank and have no issue beating netminders from distance. Matthews’ pulled angle-switching wrist shot is his calling card; Ovechkin’s one-timer is a thing of nightmares.
Yet neither is a one-trick threat.
“They’re versatile. They can score off the rush. They go to the front of the net and bang home rebounds, tips, that sort of thing. They can beat guys one-on-one. Both have just incredible shots,” Carlson says.
Matthews, who is also gunning for his first 100-point season, has reaped praise for his defensive game and takeaway ability, while prime Ovechkin’s best attribute without the puck might be his fearful body checks.
“There’s differences in their game for sure, but the results seem to be quite similar,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe says. “[Ovechkin] is not showing any signs of slowing down.”
Another similarity? Their jubilant goal celebrations.
Matthews may never revel in his own success with a “hot stick,” but his open-palmed wave for noise, his outstretched ‘Are you not entertained?!’ arms, and his powerful fist pumps reveal his zest for scoring.
“He wants to create and generate. It shows in the way he plays a game. You see his emotion when he scores. He loves to do what he does,” Peter Laviolette says. The Capitals coach is talking about Ovechkin, but his answer applies to both superstars.
Matthews, now 24, still has a blast watching Ovechkin, with whom he’s struck up a friendly acquaintanceship through league events.
“He’s fun to watch. And he’s competitive. He’s so passionate. You can see that when he scores — how much he wants to score, and how much he wants to see other guys succeed and score as well when he’s out there.
“Just think watching him growing up, I think that’s something I tried to adapt from him. Just his fire and passion for scoring goals, for winning. Just competing out there.”
Expect both generational goal-scorers to be sharpening their blades for Thursday’s showdown.
“Some nights, there’s just a bigger market or a more challenging game,” Laviolette says. “Hopefully that brings out the best not just in Alex but in everybody.
“Big-time moments are for big-time players, and Alex seems to do well in those situations.”
Ditto for Matthews.
One-Timers: It was not lost on Laviolette that Keefe scratched the skilful Jason Spezza and Nick Abruzzese in favour of a more rugged fourth line with Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford…. Justin Holl will take a seat, as Timothy Liljegren’s stock trends upward in Toronto’s internal competition for a top-six defence spot in the playoffs…. Rasmus Sandin (knee) continues to push his on-ice rehab. He pushed through 30 minutes of drills prior to morning skate…. The Leafs will be celebrating Pride Night Thursday…. Jack Campbell versus Ilya Samsonov is the matchup in net.
Projected lineup vs. Washington:
Forwards
Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Mikheyev-Tavares-Kerfoot
Nylander-Kämpf-Engvall
Clifford-Blackwell-Simmonds
Defencemen
Rielly-Lyubushkin
Brodie-Muzzin
Giordano-Liljegren
Goalies
Campbell starts
Källgren
