As he shoots 70 in Florida, all eyes are on Auston Matthews of the Leafs due to…….

 

 

On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in Toronto, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates prior to NHL hockey play versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.PRESS OF THE CANADA/Chris Young
Written by Lucas Casaletto

Posted at 8:58 am on April 16, 2024. Updated at 8:59 a.m. on April 16, 2024.
If Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews gets his 70th goal of the year against the Florida Panthers tonight, he will create hockey history.

The 26-year-old player would become the ninth player to achieve the 70-goal club, joining an exclusive group. Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Phil Esposito, Jari Kurri, Mario Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls, Alexander Mogilny, and Teemu Selanne are among the other players who have accomplished this feat.

During the 1992–93 season, Mogilny and Selanne were the final players to do this. While Selanne scored 76 goals in 84 games as a rookie with the Winnipeg Jets, Mogilny finished with 76 goals in 77 games with the Buffalo Sabres.

Four times, including in 1981–82 when he had 92 goals in a season with the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky scored more than 70 goals. Three times, Hull scored more than 70 goals, including a career-high 86 goals in 1990–91 while playing with the St. Louis Blues.

Auston Matthews, forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews, 34, a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs, rejoices. (CP) Matthews would become the first player to reach 70 goals in the history of the Maple Leafs. With 60 goals in 73 games, he eclipsed Rick Vaive’s previous record of 54 goals for the most goals scored by a Maple Leaf in a season in 2021–2022.

On Monday night, Oilers forward Connor McDavid achieved a personal milestone when he became a member of the 100-assist club. The captain of the Oilers became the first player since 1990–1991 to reach the 100-assist mark in NHL history, behind Gretzky (eleven times), Lemieux, and Bobby Orr.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET. To secure first place in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers would need to defeat the Maple Leafs and hope that the Boston Bruins would lose to the Ottawa Senators. In the event that it takes place, the Leafs would play the Bruins in the NHL playoffs’ opening round.