Canada
Maple Leafs’ Matthews scores 50th goal in 54th game
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews has scored his 50th and 51st goal of the season in just his 54th game.
The red-hot Matthews hit the milestone with a goal in the first period against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night at Mullett Arena.
The goal came in Matthews’ home state as he grew up in Scottsdale.
The star centre would add his second of the game and 51st goal on the year late in the second period to give the Maple Leafs a 4-2 lead.
Matthews is the fastest NHLer to hit 50 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux scored 50 in 50 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96 and is the fastest U.S.-born player to reach the milestone, breaking his own record from 2021-22.
The record among active skaters is 50 in 61 games by Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers in 2022-23.
Matthews had seven goals in his past three games, including consecutive hat tricks against the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks.
It marks Matthews’ second 50-goal season after he scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22 en route to winning the Hart Trophy. He also set the Maple Leafs’ single-season goal record that year.
Matthews is on pace to be the NHL’s first 70-goal scorer since Teemu Selänne (Winnipeg Jets) and Alexander Mogilny (Buffalo Sabres) each scored 76 in 1992-93. Wayne Gretzky holds the single-season NHL goal record with 92 in 1981-1982 and scored 87 goals the season after that.
Matthews has never finished an NHL season with fewer than 34 goals.
With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews