Matthews became the fastest Toronto Maple Leafs in franchise history to reach 600 points, eclipsing the mark teammate Mitch Marner set earlier in the month.
Matthews became the fastest Toronto Maple Leafs in franchise history to reach 600 points, eclipsing the mark teammate Mitch Marner set earlier in the month.
WINNIPEG — It just seems inevitable now that when Auston Matthews hits the ice on any given night, he has the capability of doing something special.
Saturday night was no exception when the Toronto Maple Leafs star forward became the first player this season to score his 40th goal of the season in just his 46th game of the season.
The goal was scored while the Maple Leafs were on a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity and gave the club a 3-1 lead in the third period. It ended up being the game-winner as the Leafs went on to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 at Canada Life Centre. It was also Matthews' 600th NHL point becoming the fastest Maple Leaf in franchise history to hit that point total in just his 527th NHL game.
Matthews, not keen to bask in any personal milestones, was actually not pleased with his game on Saturday as he committed a few turnovers early against Winnipeg.
"I’m just trying to stay consistent trying to work every night," Matthews said. "I don’t think tonight was necessarily our best game as a line but I think we just stayed patient, try to stay with it, stay with it."
Nonetheless, Matthews has established himself as a game-breaker in the NHL. At 26 years old, the Scottsdale, Arizona native hit the 40-goal plateau for the fifth consecutive season and sixth time in his career.
No player has hit the 70-goal plateau in a season since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny both scored 76 goals during the 1992-93 season. Matthews is on pace to shatter his previous career high of 60 goals during the 2021-22 season.
At this point, whatever Matthews accomplishes this season, nobody will be shocked
"Nothing surprises you anymore. It’s a pleasure to play with him and thrilled to be a teammate and to go compete with him every single day," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said of Matthews. "Even just the way he pushes the group in so many ways and how he makes people like me better.
"It’s just a credit to his skill set and the type of talent he is, but also what the work he puts into the game and how driven he is."
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