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Matthews becomes Maple Leafs franchise leader in goals in loss to Islanders
Matthew Schaefer scored twice, including at 4:11 of overtime, and the New York Islanders beat the Maple Leafs 4-3 on a night when Toronto captain Auston Matthews became the greatest goal scorer in franchise history.
Matthews scored twice in the second period to pass Mats Sundin and set the franchise record for career goals with 421.
His first goal tied Sundin at 420 when Matthews entered the offensive zone past Islanders defenceman Scott Mayfield, shifted the puck from his backhand to his forehand and slid it past goaltender David Rittich at 9:30 of the second period. It tied the score 1-1.
Just 7:49 later, Matthews broke the record with his second of the game to put Toronto ahead, burying a cross-ice feed from Bobby McMann on a one-timer.
It gave Matthews his second consecutive multi-goal game after he had a hat trick on Friday night in the Maple Leafs’ 6-5 win against Winnipeg. He now has six goals and 10 points in four games since the NHL’s Christmas break. He sat out Toronto’s 4-0 win against New Jersey on Tuesday.
Matthews, in his second season as Maple Leafs captain after succeeding teammate John Tavares, is fourth all-time in franchise points with 760, trailing Sundin (987), Darryl Sittler (916) and Dave Keon (858).
Matthews is also the first United States-born player to lead a Canadian franchise in career goals and joins Mike Modano as one of the only U.S.-born players to hold a franchise goal-scoring record with a minimum of 50 goals.
Sundin, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, scored 420 goals in 981 games with the Maple Leafs. Matthews, named to Team USA for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina next month, topped his mark in his 664th game.
And the Hall of Famer made sure to congratulate Matthews for surpassing his goal mark on Saturday.
“Auston, congratulations (on) beating my record,” Sundin said in a pre-recorded video posted by the Maple Leafs on social media. “It feels good. You’re going to enjoy it more once your career is over. But it’s a great milestone and good luck chasing the big championship for the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
Sundin also reacted to the milestone marker on Saturday through a video while in his native Sweden.
“What a treat for all Maple Leaf fans around the world to have a player like yourself representing the Toronto Maple Leafs. And even more importantly, you’re a great person and a great leader for the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
— with files from Sportsnet staff
