Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews reaches historic 60 goal mark
Having not scored in his past 5 games, it was back to business as usual only this time in a much bigger way.
The American got back on track with his record breaking goal scoring form as he helped the Maple Leafs take an important step in the post season.
Leafs’ Auston Matthews scores 60th goal of NHL season
On Tuesday night the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews scored his league leading 59th and 60th goals of the season in a 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, thereby securing home-ice advantage for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Though he’s ahead of the pack, it was in fact the first time the American was scoring in the last five games. Matthews now becomes the first NHL player to score 60 goals in a single season since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12.
There was seemingly no time to gloat, however, as the 24 year old was quick to point out post game that neither he nor the Leafs will be satisfied with regular season accolades, as they most definitely have post season plans “Job’s not done,” he said, frankly. “Work’s not finished.”
How did Austom Matthews make history?
This was actually Matthews third consecutive game since missing three games with an undisclosed injury. Though he had a few decent looks at the goal, it would be 35 minutes before he finally got the better of Red Wings’ goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic with 4:12 left in the second period. “It’s special, it’s unique, it’s rare. I’m just really happy for him,” Toronto’s coach Sheldon Keefe said. “You know the abilities he has, but he works extremely hard at his game, off the ice, he takes his craft very seriously. To see him at the top of his game and reaching these milestones, it’s outstanding.”
As for the goals themselves, it was teammate Jason Spezza who fed Matthews the puck in front before his hesitation sold the Detroit goaltender and he slid home No. 59, as the fans chanted “M-V-P!” Then came the 60th. Having seen the lead doubled by Leafs’ captain John Tavares double the lead at 4:03 in the third with his 27th goal of the season, it was time for Matthews to put the cherry on top. During a power play at 5:49, he kept the puck in at the offensive blue line before blasting a sudden shot past Nedeljkovic’s glove to send the crowd wild. Speaking on his teammate, Tavares could do nothing but gush saying, “It’s unreal.” In the moments after,Matthews’ teammates gave him an ovation on the bench, while some fans threw hats on the ice in honor of the accomplishment. “It was pretty special, honestly. The reception from my teammates, the crowd, everything,” Matthews said. “It sends chills down your bones. It’s kind of hard to put into words, you know?”
Where are the Toronto Maple Leafs at right now?
While it was a historic night for Matthews, his teammates were not to be left out with John Tavares scoring the other goal and Jack Campbell making an impressive 20 saves to register his fifth shutout of the season for the Leafs, taking them to a record of 53-21-7. That’s a franchise record in case you were wondering as the win marks the 30th home victory of the season. With the result the Leafs are now fully in control of the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Division and will now wait to see who they will face in the opening round of the playoffs next week at Scotiabank Arena. As it stands their opponent will be either the Boston Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Leafs will know all too well, however, that from here on out the opposition is going to be much tougher. The Lightning are back to back Stanley Cup champions, while the Bruins have definitely improved since their slow start to the season - topping 100 points. Both teams are coming off wins and between them have won the last three Eastern Conference titles. If the Leafs are to advance past the first round, it will take everything they have got and possibly more. Interestingly, the Leafs will host the Bruins on Friday night in what will be the regular season finale for both franchises.