Auston Matthews continued to make his case as one of the best goal scorers in NHL history by scoring 60 goals in a season for the second time in his career.
The calls for 60 goals from the thousands of Toronto Maple Leafs fans in attendance at KeyBank Center rained down essentially from puck drop and then throughout the evening. It took until the third period for the Leafs center to corral a rebound and jam home his fourth goal in six games. Matthews’ goal sealed a 3-0 win for the Leafs.
Matthews’ 60-goal campaign comes in addition to four other seasons in which he hit 40 goals. His consistency when filling the back of the net puts him in rarefied air. Only eight other players have ever scored 60 goals twice: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Mike Bossy, Phil Esposito, Jari Kurri, Steve Yzerman and Pavel Bure.