Matthews has “such a long way to go” to break the Ovechkin record of 895 goals in the NHL

There, of course, there are other factors involved.

How many additional goals, for example, will Ovechkin before his retirement?

How much can Matthews be healthy?

And how long will Matthews totals be increased by elite victories like his teammate Mitch Marner, who is eligible to become a free agent without restriction on July 1?

None of these questions currently concerns Matthews, who, like the rest of the world of hockey, just enjoyed looking at Ovechkin to create history.

“Quite cool,” he said. “I think that to be able to attend this, I just felt like everything was going there.

“And it was pretty cool to see this record during battle. I mean, a bit like, obviously, Wayne Gretzky, the quantity of goals you need to score, the coherence and everything that enters there.

He gleaned when he was pointed out that Ovechkin eats underwater sandwiches like a pre-match meal and benefits from a few beers from time to time, not really the health regime that many modern Nhlers adhere.

“I mean, I think he just builds different from most people, probably, and he just has that Factor X,” said Matthews. “So I don’t know.

“I mean, everyone is different, but there is obviously a little specimen.”

Matthews only need two goals to reach 400 in the NHL. But he is more concerned about the next journey on the road to his team through Florida, which begins at the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (7 p.m. HE; ESPN, TSN4) and also includes a visit to the Lightning of Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Consecutive victories would certainly leave the Maple Leafs in a great listening position to finish first in the Atlantic division. They entered first place on Monday with 98 points, four in front of the lightning (44-26-6) and six in front of the panthers (44-29-4). Toronto and Tampa Bay still have six games; Florida has five.

Panthers prey to injuries lost five consecutive games (0-4-1), but Matthews said that the Stanley Cup champions were still a handful.

“They will be ready to leave,” he said. “I think the emphasis is on our team, and our group ensuring that we are ready here. But, of course, it’s an experienced team, a veteran team.

“You lose a couple in a row (like the panthers), you know that you are going to get a good game from them.”