Goals come fast and furious
Matthews nets two to reach 57 goals, Domi notches four assists in easy win over Capitals
Auston Matthews got closer to 70, Alex Ovechkin got closer to Wayne Gretzky and Max Domi did a solid impression of Mitch Marner.
It all added up to a tidy 7-3 Maple Leafs win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.
Matthews had two goals and three assists, aided by four assists from Domi, the latest and possibly best choice by coach Sheldon Keefe as he searches for a replacement for the injured Marner. It was the first four-assist night of Domi’s career.
Matthews increased his leagueleading goal total to 57, three shy of his career high of 60. He needs 13 goals in his final 14 games to reach 70, a total no player has reached since 1993.
William Nylander had a goal and two assists, while John Tavares, Bobby McMann, Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake McCabe also scored as the Leafs reasserted themselves after a disappointing effort in Philadelphia.
The offence made a winner of Joseph Woll for the first time since Feb. 29.
Ovechkin led the Washington offence with two goals, to move within 49 goals of Gretzky’s all-time league record of 894 career goals.
Matthews vs. Ovechkin
Rarely does the NHL miss a chance to pull out the stops when there’s a marquee matchup and Wednesday night’s game was no exception, with two of the greatest goal scorers of the era going up against each other.
After a slow start — nine goals in four months — Ovechkin has sprung to life to keep his pursuit of Gretzky’s all-time goal record in sight. The 38-year-old has 15 goals in 21 games in February and March.
“Pucks are going in for him,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “He’s done a really nice job on the power play. He smells that these are the most important games of the year.
“You can tell he’s been through this a long time and this time of the year is his time to shine.”
A hot Ovechkin has brought the Capitals into the wild-card hunt.
But the league was happy to point out that Matthews leads the NHL in goals since entering the league in 2016-17 (354 heading into the game), while Ovechkin ranks fourth over that span.
Matthews’ goals-per-game rate is 0.65 through his first 547 games, higher than Ovechkin’s rate (0.62) over his first 547.
And Ovechkin, whose single-season career high is 65 goals, is rooting for Matthews to get to 70.
“Happy for him, hope he gets it,” Ovechkin said. “He’s a special player. It’s fun to watch.”
Flipping the script
Fitting that Matthews opened the scoring. Not only did he add to his total with his 56th goal and move into a tie with five others for 155th in all-time scoring, but he did so quickly. A night after the Leafs played a dud and let Philadelphia score 19 seconds into the game, Matthews scored 16 seconds into Wednesday’s game.
And it was with new-look linemates, with Bobby McMann and Domi on his wings.
Tyler Bertuzzi, his normal leftwinger, sat on the bench for the first eight minutes of the game, then was back on with Matthews and Domi.
The entire roster had an interesting look with Keefe scratching struggling defenceman T.J Brodie, who was minus-4 in his last two games and has seemed a shadow of his usually reliable self more often than not this season. The analytics say he’s struggling. He has been on the ice for more high-danger chances against (584) than for (564), the only Leafs defenceman for which that is true.
“He hasn’t been at his best this season, for most of the season, yet he’s taken on a lot for us,” Keefe said. “We’ve been through a lot with our defence. He’s been consistently in there each night, taking on the hardest matchups every single night. This was a chance for us to give him a night off, lighten the load.”
Building a lead
Quick goals to start periods continued with Nylander scoring in the first minute in what became a backand-forth second.
Ovechkin cut the Leafs’ lead on a power play. Matthews reinstated a two-goal lead and finished the night in a five-way tie for 155th in all-time scoring.
Connor McMichael got the Capitals within one, then Leafs fans showered the ice with hats when they thought Matthews had scored a hat trick goal. Matthews thought it, too, but the Capitals challenged for offside and it showed Bertuzzi was just a step ahead. But a Domi shot from the point deflected off McCabe and the Leafs headed into the third period with a 4-2 lead.