PHOTOS: Auston Matthews Breaks His Own Maple Leafs' Franchise Record with 61st and 62nd Goals This Season, NHL Star Has 70 Within Reach
The Maple Leafs have eight games remaining and Matthews is eight goals away from becoming the first NHL player to reach 70 in over 30 years.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers 6-4 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. And while it set up as a potential first-round preview, the game for the most part was meaningless with both clubs virtually locked into the NHL playoffs.
So all the attention has been rightfully placed on Auston Matthews. The NHL's leading goal-scorer scored twice against the Panthers on Monday.
[gallery ids="2932,2933,2934,2935,2909"]
He scored his first goal of the game and 61st of the season when he collected a pass across the crease from defenseman TJ Brodie and easily shot the puck past Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Matthews' second goal and 62nd of the season came on an empty-netter that was badly needed for the Maple Leafs, who saw their 5-1 lead evaporate to 5-4 before the Arizona native iced the game for good.
Matthews has four goals in his last four games. He scored his 60th goal of the season on Saturday in a 3-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres. That's when Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov said he wanted to see the NHL start get to 70 goals.
Nick Robertson, who also scored on Monday, echoed those sentiments.
"He's an unbelievable player, Hall-of-Famer. I really hope he gets a 70," Robertson. It'd be special to witness. And what he's doing is pretty remarkable and happy about that."
Matthews is now eight goals away from becoming the first player in over 30 years to reach the 70-goal mark. It's not outside of the realm of possibility, considering the player now has four goals in his last four games.
The last players to reach the 70-goal mark were Teemu Selanne and Alex Mogilny when they each scored 76 during the 1992-93 season.
Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves says why stop there?
"Eighty is possible for that guy," Reaves said before the game. "Anything is possible with him, the way he shoots the puck. Anything is possible. I look forward to watching."
Matthews broke the Maple Leafs record for goals in a season during the 2021-22 campaign when he scored 60, eclipsing Rick Vaive's record of 54. With each goal, Matthews is just setting a new standard for a record he already holds.
Related
News from THN.com