The Toronto Maple Leafs are a pretty good team. They have some flaws but they are exciting to watch every single night. Their core four of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares are a big reason for that.
On Wednesday night, all four of them had multi-point games against the Arizona Coyotes in their 6-3 victory. It was a homecoming for Auston Matthews whose two points were a little bit extra special in this one.
Both of his came in the form of goals. They were his 50th and 51st of the season. He reached that total in 54 games played. He has 12 more goals than Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers who is second in the league with 39.
Matthews is pulling off something we haven't seen in a very long time. He didn't quite get 50 in 50 but things like that don't happen in today's NHL. He may be the first person to crack 70 goals in multiple decades.
Auston Matthews is the best goal scorer in the NHL right now
We thought it was insanity when Matthews broke 60 two years ago. Now, he has even bigger numbers on his mind.
It is always a big deal when Matthews makes his annual return home to play the Coyotes. This year, it was a storybook type of game as he reached this impressive milestone at Mullet Arena.
Matthews has seven goals in his last three games. It is a remarkable run that pushed him to this number even quicker than we thought. Toronto has been winning all of these games too which is even more important than his goal totals.
With these insane goal totals, Matthews has himself in the running for the NHL's Hart Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player. If he has one of the best goal-scoring seasons of the century, he should at least be considered.
All of the excitement will be for not if the Leafs have absolutely no playoff success. They need to have a good showing this year or it will be a sour memory. With that said, Matthews is doing amazing things and should be very proud of himself.