Watch: Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews make history, netting goal No. 50 vs. Coyotes
Auston Matthews' historic goal-scoring season continues.
On Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs star netted goal No. 50 in his 54th game, becoming the fastest U.S.-born player to reach the mark in a season.
Matthews netted his 50th tally at 5:01 into the first period against the Arizona Coyotes, surpassing the previous record of 50 goals in 62 games, shared by Matthews (2021-22) and Kevin Stevens (1992-93).
Matthews is now the ninth-fastest player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season (55 team games). Wayne Gretzky owns the record (39 games), followed by Mario Lemieux (46 games), Brett Hull (49 games), Henry Richard (50 games), Mike Bossy (50 games), Bernie Nichols (51 games), Jari Kurri (53 games) and Alexander Mogilny (53 games).
The milestone taking place at Mullett Arena was extra special for Matthews, an Arizona native who grew up rooting for the Coyotes.
Before the game, he spoke briefly with The Hockey News about the possibility of making history in front of family and friends at home but seemed more focused on the Leafs' four-game winning streak.
"It would be great. It would be cool," Matthews said. "(But) I'm just going to try to go out there and execute and play my game."
Only a week removed from record hat tricks in back-to-back games, Matthews has been red-hot as of late. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic put his recent play into perspective, revealing that Matthews' 36 goals since Dec. 2 would rank him second in the NHL, not over that stretch, but for the season.
A clear front-runner for MVP, Matthews is now on the hunt for a rare 70-goal season. After his goal on Wednesday, he's on pace for 75, making him the first to reach the mark since the 1992-93 season, when Teemu Selanne and Mogilny finished with 76 goals each.
More must-reads: