Auston Matthews is in the record books once again. The Toronto Maple Leafs star scored his 66th goal of the season in a 5-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils earlier this week. By scoring his 66th goal, Matthews passed Alex Ovechkin for the most goals in a season by an active NHL player.
Ovechkin previously set the record at 65 goals in the 2007-08 season. He also became the first player since Mario Lemieux to score at least 66 goals in a season. Lemieux scored 69 goals in the 1995-96 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“It's cool,” Matthews said about passing Ovechkin. “He's obviously who he is and what he's done for the game and what he's accomplished. It's an honor to be in the same sentence with him.”
“I think the process is the same every night,” Matthews said when told in an interview that his teammates want to see him get 70 goals. “I find when you really overthink it and want it too much, it almost doesn't go your way. Obviously, you want to make sure, individually and as a team, you're doing the right things night in and night out on both sides of the puck that will translate well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
In the victory over the Devils, Auston Matthews extended his goal streak to six games (7 goals). Tyler Bertuzzi logged two goals and an assist, along with Max Domi and Jake McCabe who each added two assists. Joseph Woll had an impressive outing in goal with 18 saves.
Auston Matthews in range for a historic 70-goal season
Now that Matthews has scored 66 goals, the natural next question is: how many will he score in the remainder of the regular season?
With four games left in the regular season, it is possible that Matthews achieves an incredibly rare feat of scoring 70 goals in one season. He would be the first player to eclipse 70 goals in a season since Teemu Selanne (76) and Alex Mogilny (76) in 1992-93.
If Matthews could manage 71 goals, he would put himself in the top 10 all-time range with legends of the game like Wayne Gretsky and Jari Kurri, whom he would tie for their impressive 1984-85 seasons.
The Maple Leafs remaining regular season schedule includes games against the Devils, Red Wings, Panthers, and Lightning. Toronto has already clinched a playoff berth and is currently ranked third in the Atlantic division with 101 points. The game against the Panthers could be important for playoff seeding as the Maple Leafs are currently only three points behind Florida.
The Toronto Maple Leafs face the New Jersey Devils again on Thursday April 11th. Toronto will look to gain another win as they set their sights on a Stanley Cup campaign.
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