Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable
'Everybody is Somewhat Happy': Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin Each Score Twice as Maple Leafs Beat Capitals in Clash of Goal-Scoring Kings
Auston Matthews recorded five points for the second time this season and Max Domi had a season-high four points in a 7-3 win over Washington.
WASHINGTON — Anytime Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin are both on the ice, it promises to be a show and on Wednesday night the stars delivered.
Both players scored a pair of goals but it was Matthews's Toronto Maple Leafs who won out in the end with a 7-3 victory against Ovechkin's Washington Capitals.
Matthews wasted no time by scoring his first goal of the game just 16 seconds into the contest, scoring his 56th goal of the season. A nice feed from Max Domi who set him up from behind the net.
Both players connected for four of Toronto's seven goals on the evening. Including Matthews' second goal and NHL-leading 57th of the season at the 12:59 mark of the second period.
But even while Matthews was pulling off his magic, Ovechkin was scoring too. Twice beating Joseph Woll on a pair of one-timers from the corner for career goals No. 844 and 845.
"I think we're all kind of running out of words to describe it. He's the greatest goal-scorer of all-time, 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," Matthews said of Ovechkin. "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. It's always fun to play against him."
Matthews was a kid when he went to a Coyotes game in Phoenix and saw Ovechkin score what is still one of the most memorable goals in the Russian's career.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E82oUXP6Hng[/embed]
Matthews put himself back on the watch for 70 goals this season. Earlier in the morning, Ovechkin told reporters that he was rooting for the Toronto Maple Leafs forward to accomplish the feat.
"I hope he gets it," Ovechkin said of Matthews. "He's a special player."
Matthews had gone cold before the game, having scored just twice in his previous eight games. But even as the Maple Leafs were focused on bouncing back from a 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, some members of the Leafs couldn't help but be amazed by what they were witnessing.
"Any time I've played against Ovi in my career, he's pretty special. You kind of look over and go, 'Wow, that's going to be the greatest goal-scorer of all time,' and then you look over and I'm like, 'Oh, well, Auston's right there now, too,'" Domi said. "It's crazy to think that Alex can break Wayne's (Gretzky's career goal-scoring) record, potentially, hopefully, and then Auston's going to be sniffing at that, too. 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 was denied his 58th goal of the season that would have given him a hat trick after Washington successfully challenged it for off-side.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was pleased that the Leafs were able to bounce back, although he probably would have preferred to deny the Caps of any of their goals.
"We are going to have to cover those one-timers in the pre-scout." Keefe said of Ovechkin. "Obviously guys look for him. I don't know how he handled some of those situations but he is a world-class player.
"If we can get the two points and still allow him to add to his total I guess we will take that. Everybody is somewhat happy."
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