Auston Matthews wants to get to 70 goals. His Maple Leafs teammates might want it more.
With seven more goals, he’ll have the first 70-goal season since Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne scored 76 in 1992-93.
At a time of year when a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs seems inevitable and the results don’t matter quite so much, Auston Matthews has given his Maple Leafs teammates something else to keep them motivated.
They, perhaps more than he, want him to get to 70 goals.
Maple Leafs Make Anticipated Roster Move Involving Top-Six Forward.
After missing a few games of late, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be able to deploy forward Mitch Marner on Saturday after he joined the team for a Friday, April 5 practice, per NHL.com.
Marner hit the ice on Friday and was a full participant for the first time since he was placed on Long Term Injury Reserve on March 30 in a move retroactive to March 7, as the Leafs announced back then.
The forward, who was nursing a high ankle sprain and has not played a game since March 7, is expected to play on Saturday, April 6, in a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens.
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“I just want to get back, get back in the rhythm of things and try to contribute to help our team win games,” Marner told reporters after the Leafs’ practice on Friday, April 5.
Before suffering the lower-body injury, Marner was on pace to score 100 points in 2024. Fellow Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander are approaching that mark with 99 and 95 points respectively through games played before this weekend.
Where Will Mitch Marner Play Once He Returns?
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun shared the forward lines used by Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe on April 5, which featured Marner in the second line instead of the first one, where he played before going down injured a month ago.
