As Matthews Reaches for 70 Goals: He’s Not Alone.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews is on the quest for a 70-goal season. How is his team helping him reach that goal?
Only a couple of weeks ago, most hockey fans had given up on Auston Matthews getting close to 70 goals with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. Then, when Mitch Marner went down with an ankle injury, the quest looked even more difficult. But that was then.
This is now, and Matthews has gone on the kind of heater that has been dazzling. As he’s been bearing down on this goal, he’s giving everyone close to the hockey world a sense of his extraordinary goal-scoring abilities. Now, it’s almost palpable: He’s ever so close to 70 goals.
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs lost a stinker of a game against the New Jersey Devils, fans in Scotiabank Arena were on the edge of their seats watching him near that almost unprecedented milestone. He added two more to his incredible total in last night’s game against the Devils. He now sits at 68 goals on the season and has three games remaining to score two more. Whether he gets to that number or not, he has shown the entire NHL that he’s one of the NHL’s most dominant players.
The Season Has Been Historic for Matthews
This season has been historic for Matthews. With 68 goals, he’s right at the threshold of reaching the 70-goal mark. What’s even more impressive is his staggering 51 even-strength goals, which shows that these are not cheapies. He’s not loading up on the power play and has only two empty-net goals on the season.
It’s hard not to get caught up in Matthews’ pursuit of the 70-goal milestone. In doing so, he’s captured the conversation of hockey analysts regardless of which team they cover. You can bet that more fans than usual will be watching his televised games as the regular season winds down. Every goal he scores brings him closer to scratching his name into the record books.
