“He’s struggled to score 30 at 27”: NHL fans speculate whether Auston Matthews could surpass Wayne Gretzky to hold historic record

Auston Matthews is two goals away from reaching 400 in his NHL career. He scored and assisted in a 5-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. He assisted on William Nylander’s goal and scored later in the game. With that, he reached 30 goals and 71 points this season. In his last 11 games, he has seven goals and 15 points.

NHL insider Nick Alberga asked on X if Matthews could pass Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 goals.

The tweet got attention from fans, and many shared their opinions. Some believe Matthews has a chance, while others are doubtful.

"He’s struggled to score 30 at age 27," one fan said.

"No because he won't have the longevity into his 30's Ovi has had. Ovi has 5 years of 48+ goals after age 30 (With 2 COVID seasons)," another fan said.

"I don't think he will stay healthy enough to do that. Ovechkin was remarkably healthy through his career and he's just beating Gretzky at the end of his." Another fan added.

This season, Auston Matthews has played 61 games and has missed nearly 15 games due to injury. It’s not his best year, but the numbers are solid. The main question is whether he can keep scoring at a high level for many more years while staying healthy.

"i wish he could but don't see him staying healthy enough to do it." a fan said.

"9.5 years from now if he continues at his pace." a fan mentioned.

"Draisaitl has 399 goals nick Matthews is nothing special" a fan wrote.

Auston Matthews, Robertson, and Nylander helped Leafs defeat the Blue Jackets

The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5–0 on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. Nicholas Robertson scored the first goal at 10:03 of the first period with a shot from the slot. He added another at 12:28 of the second after a turnover at the blue line.

William Nylander made it 3–0 at 1:11 of the third by scoring on a rebound. He scored again at 4:21 with a shot to the blocker side after a pass from Morgan Rielly. Auston Matthews scored the final goal at 16:27 from below the left hashmarks.

Goalie Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves for the shutout. The Maple Leafs have now won four games in a row and lead the Atlantic Division by four points.