The NHL community is staring at a historic milestone in the face. With one game in hand, the Washington Capitals’ captain, Alex Ovechkin, has already tied Wayne Gretzky’s 894 all-time goal record. However, the spot at the top comes with a lot of attention from the fans, and the 39-year-old Russian isn’t immune to scrutiny either. But it seems like the fans are more or less convinced of his skills with the puck.

The Capitals are at the top of the Metropolitan Division and have already qualified for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs with 107 points to their name. They will be joined by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Eastern Conference. Leafs captain Auston Matthews is leading the team from the front with 29 goals under his belt this season, and many seem to believe that he could, one day, catch up to Alex Ovechkin and the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky. Others aren’t so easily convinced.

Toronto star edges past Alex Ovechkin

The Hockey News took to X on April 4 to stir up the pot. With the caption, “Auston Matthews has a higher goals per game average than Alex Ovechkin,” the social media update undoubtedly divides the fans as to if Matthews has what it takes to match up to the Capitals’ #8. In nine seasons at Toronto, Auston has racked up 397 goals in 622 games, sealing himself as one of the league’s best scorers already at the age of 27. But first, let’s take a look at what the numbers for the two hockey stars look like.

Alex Ovechkin has achieved his seminal career milestone in 1,486 games, exactly one game less than the number of matches Gretzky played in his 894-goal career. With that, one would calculate Ovechkin’s goals per game average to be 0.60 (rounded off), while Matthews boasts a 0.63 (rounded off) goals per game average. The slight edge that Auston has seems to be enough for some fans to take a sly potshot at the Washington Capitals winger.

However, Matthews is still a long way from playing as many games as Alex or Wayne, and with higher numbers, the average is most likely to fall to some extent. On the other hand, Auston has age on his side, while Ovechkin is looking at his final years in the NHL. Still, fans have their doubts about seeing the San Ramon native becoming the top goalscorer in the league.

Fans stand firm behind the Capitals’ Gr8

Ovechkin, along with playing spectacularly at the front, has also contributed significantly to the team’s defense over the years. On the other hand, Auston’s mistake at the 4 Nations Face-Off still seems to be a vivid memory among the fans, who are yet to forgive him for the action that led to the USA’s defeat at the international tournament. Perhaps, it was with that memory in mind that one fan slammed, “And he still can’t play defense.”

Alex Ovechkin has played for the Capitals for 20 consecutive seasons. A lengthy career, indeed. By that account, Matthews still has 11 years to catch up to the Russian, but some fans think even that isn’t a long enough time to match the Washington captain’s records. “If Matthews played for more 20 years he wouldn’t catch Ovechkin,” one fan stated flatly. Alex has already scored 41 goals this season, while Matthew is yet to cross the 30-goal mark, and one fan reminded the fact with the comment, “Bro is struggling to score 30 this year at age 27.”

“He’ll never come remotely close,” another fan chipped in. The skepticism got a major boost seeing Ovechkin’s actions during the Capitals vs Blackhawks game tonight. During the third period of the match, the Chicago team pulled their goalie from the net in hopes of fighting back, and Alex was seen telling the Capitals coach Spencer Carbury that he didn’t want to break Gretzky’s record by scoring at an empty net. Naturally, fans had the winger’s integrity, and another fan commented, “Comparing a 27 year old in per game stats to a 39 year old lol.”

Do you see a time in the future where Matthews could be seated in the same row as Alex Ovechkin or Wayne Gretzky? Tell us your predictions about the Leafs’ captain’s future in a comment!