Although Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews probably would have preferred the two points, he made even more history in Thursday night's loss to the New Jersey Devils. The American potted a pair of goals in the losing effort, at the same time passing franchise legend Mats Sundin for the most even-strength goals in team history, per Leafs PR.
Make that 274 non-special teams tallies for No. 34, who continues rewriting the record books in Toronto — and is nowhere close to done.
Auston Matthews’ second period goal was the 274th even strength goal of his career – the most by any player in @MapleLeafs history.
1. Auston Matthews 274
2. Mats Sundin 273
T3. Dave Keon 269
T3. Ron Ellis 269— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) April 12, 2024
The show goes on for Matthews, who scored No. 67 and 68 in a back-and-forth 6-5 loss to the Devils at Scotiabank Arena. He scored Toronto's second and third goals, helping the team open up a 4-3 lead that would eventually be squandered in the final frame.
After scoring his 66th earlier this week — the most in a single season since Mario Lemieux nearly three decades ago — it looks like Matthews will not be denied scoring 70 in 2023-24.
But he's still more focused on the team's success, and wasn't thrilled with the effort on Thursday.
“I thought it was a little sloppy at times, it just didn’t seem like we were as dialed in as we should have been tonight,” he said afterwards, according to NHL.com's Dave McCarthy. “And obviously playing a team with a lot of speed, a lot of skill, when you are careless with the puck they can make you pay.”
Matthews needs just two more tallies over the squad's final three tilts to hit No. 70: against the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It’s remarkable what he’s doing,” captain John Tavares said about Matthews' incredible season, per McCarthy.
“I think there’s no question about it, we are seeing something truly special, so just appreciate it every night and as a team, we want to do a good job with our game as a whole to maximize when you have a player like that who can put the puck in the net as frequently as he can.”
For Matthews, his focus will be on helping a very good Leafs team make some noise in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a year removed from the franchise's first series win since 2004.
Auston Matthews leading Leafs into postseason
Matthews is having the best season of his NHL career — which is saying a lot — but the 26-year-old is still looking for his first Stanley Cup. Toronto hasn't won since 1967, and the drought continues to hang over Canada's most populous city.
But the Leafs are having another standout season in the Atlantic Division, now 46-24-9 and firmly entrenched in the No. 3 berth in the division. It'll be a very difficult first-round matchup against either the Boston Bruins or Panthers, and Matthews will need to be otherworldly to help get this club out of the Eastern Conference.
With 68 goals and 106 points, No. 34 looks unstoppable for the Leafs right now. Whether or not it will translate into success in the postseason is up in the air, though, especially with the gauntlet of a conference in the way.
Matthews will lead his Leafs into a matchup with a desperate Detroit Red Wings team on Saturday night.
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