The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in overtime on Monday night, putting the Maple Leafs within three points of the Florida Panthers for No. 2 in the Atlantic Division, but also seeing Toronto’s Auston Matthews score his 65th goal of the season.
Matthews tied Alex Ovechkin for most goals in a season in the 21st century, as Ovechkin hit 65 in the 2007-08 campaign with the Washington Capitals. With five games to go, the focus isn’t just on Matthews passing Ovechkin’s modern-day mark, but if Matthews can become the first player since Teemu Selanne and Alexaner Mogilny hit the 70-goal mark in 1992-93 (they both scored 76).
On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss Matthews’ season and how many goals the soon-to-be three-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy-winning forward will end up with.
Tyler Yaremchuk: We’ll start today’s show in Toronto, as Auston Matthews hits the 65-goal mark, tied for the most in the salary cap era. It’s a big accomplishment, and if you’re a Maple Leafs fan, five goals in the last five games to hit 70 doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch.
Frank Seravalli: Not a stretch at all for a guy who scores hat tricks like Matthews does. Would it surprise anyone to see him get there? The answer is no, and I think we’d all love to see that goal total start with a seven. For perspective, Matthews is only the 13th player to get to 65 goals. There’s been a few thousand players over the course of 100-plus years to play in an NHL game, but to get to 65 goals in one season, only 13.
It’s an even more elite category to get to that 70-goal mark, and we all root for round numbers. We’re watching the standings and figuring out the math, and you might think the Maple Leafs don’t have much to play for, but that No. 2 spot in the Atlantic Division still very much in play for Toronto.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
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