Rocket Richard Trophy winner heaps praise on Alex Ovechkin
Auston Matthews strikes late as Toronto Maple Leafs even playoff series in Boston - The Globe and Mail

Auston Matthewsrtical-align: inherit;”>Auston Matthews

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Auston Matthewsrtical-align: inherit;”>Auston Matthews còn 527 bàn nữa mới phá được kỷ lục mọi thời đại của Wayne Gretzky với tư cách là cầu thủ ghi nhiều bàn thắng nhất cho NHL. Nhưng điều đó không ngăn cản Mạng lưới NHL hỏi người từng hai lần đoạt giải Rocket Richard Trophy xem anh ta có nghĩ đến việc bắt được Great One hay không.

Jason Demersn: inherit;”>“Không hẳn,” Matthews nói với những người dẫn chương trình Kathryn Tappen và Jason Demers trong Lễ trao giải NHL Regular Season 2024 vào chiều thứ Bảy. “Rõ ràng, điều quan trọng nhất của tôi là mục tiêu mà tất cả 32 đội, mọi đội đều hướng tới.” anh chàng độc thân trong giải đấu – đang cố gắng giành Cúp Stanley. 

“That’s at the front of my mind and that’s what I’m working towards and going after every single day.”

Matthews, who led all players with 69 goals this season, has scored 368 goals in 562 career games. At his current pace, he could match Gretzky’s record of 894 goals in 1,417 games.

It took Gretzky 1,487 games to reach that total.

Alex Ovechkinign: inherit;”>Tuy nhiên, như Matthews đã lưu ý, nhiều khả năng Alex Ovechkin, người kém kỷ lục của Gretzky 41 bàn, sẽ đạt được mốc đó sớm hơn.

“I don’t love talking about it because with what Ovi’s done and how close he is, I don’t like taking the shine away from him and what he’s been able to do and what he’s done for the league,” Matthews said of Ovechkin, who has 853 goals in 1,426 games.

“He kind of paved the way for other players coming in. With him being so close, it’s unbelievable and it’s crazy to think that someone in this league has scored [853] goals in his career and is closing in on, arguably, the greatest player of all time.”

Still, it’s worth noting that Matthews is scoring at a rate of .650 goals per game through nearly eight full NHL seasons. In Ovechkin’s first eight years, he scored 371 times in 601 games — a rate of .617 goals per game.

In other words, even if Ovechkin breaks Gretzky’s record, chances are that Matthews could break it again.

“We’ll see, but that’s still a ways away from even being a possibility,” said Matthews. “I’ll just kind of keep it in the back of my mind and just continue to press along here.”