TORONTO — Auston Matthews’ remarkable season continues.
It took just over six minutes into a wild first period against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for the Toronto Maple Leafs center to score his 67th goal of the season.
Matthews’ linemates had been looking for him throughout their first few shifts, and when his new winger, Max Domi, found him wide open in the slot at 6:08 in the first period, he made no mistake, burying a wrist shot over Devils goalie Jake Allen’s blocker.
Matthews’ 67 goals sets another franchise record for most goals in a season as well as a record for most goals in a single season by an active player. The goal was his 366th of his career, which moved him into sole possession of third place in franchise history, ahead of Dave Keon. Matthews has played in 559 games, while Keon scored 365 goals in 1062 games. Matthews is now just 54 goals away from Mats Sundin’s all-time franchise record.
Matthews’ goal was his 50th even-strength goal of the season, making him the eighth player in league history to score 50 even-strength goals in a single campaign and the first player to do so since Teemu Selanne in 1992-93.
AUSTOMATIC MATTHEWS. pic.twitter.com/enf2jrvGLK
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 11, 2024
As the goals continue to add up, so, too, will Matthews’ case for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. He won the award in 2022 but is building another strong case with a 14-goal gap between him and Sam Reinhart and Zach Hyman, who are tied for second in the league with 53 goals.
“It is already remarkable what Auston has accomplished, right?” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said before the game. “The number continues to grow. No one in the league has reached this number, which is terrific to watch.”
With his 67th goal, Matthews moved past Phil Esposito and Lanny McDonald and their 66-goal tallies in 1971-72 and 1982-83, respectively. The goal means Matthews is now just the 10th player in NHL history to score 67 goals in a season.
He’s now one step closer to becoming the first player since both Selanne and Alexander Mogilny in 1992-93 to score at least 70 goals in a regular season.
Matthews has three games remaining in the regular season to hit that tally. The odds are in his favor, considering he’s playing some of the best hockey of the season and that his goal against the Devils increased his goal-scoring streak to seven games. One question that could impact Matthews’ chase for 70 goals is whether or not Keefe will opt to rest Matthews before the playoffs, as he has done in the past.
“Auston is feeling really good right now,” Keefe said. “He has lots of energy. You can see it in his play. Talking to him, you can see it. You can see the way he interacts with his teammates. He is playing with a free mind. You can see it out there.”
Matthews is now just one point from matching his 106-point season in 2021-22, which remains the fourth-highest single season total in Leafs history.
(Photo of Auston Matthews: Kevin Sousa / NHLI via Getty Images)