The Toronto Maple Leafs are not short of superstars. The best of them is Auston Matthews who is one of the top players in the National Hockey League.
On Saturday night, the Leafs took on the Buffalo Sabres and earned a 3-0 win. They are cruising to yet another playoff appearance with their eyes on the Stanley Cup.
In the win, Auston Matthews did something very special. He scored his 60th goal of the season in the third period.
Matthews became the 9th player in NHL history to score 60 twice in his career. There is no doubt now that he is the best goal-scorer in the league. He is on pace to be one of the best to ever do it.
HIT EM WITH THE SIXTY LIKE AUSTON MATTHEWS pic.twitter.com/meK5tojwlK
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 31, 2024
Auston Matthews made history by scoring his 60th goal of the season
This was the 359th goal in the 553rd game of his career. If he keeps scoring at a high clip like this throughout his career, he could challenge the all-time goal-scoring record. It will likely belong to Alexander Ovechkin by the time Matthews gets in range.
When Matthews is all done, there is a good chance that he is considered the all-time greatest American-born player in the history of the league. He is a gifted goal scorer who also can make plays for his teammates at a high clip.
It was thought that Matthews might be able to challenge for the 70-goal mark but it is unlikely at this point. He just ran out of games.
Reaching that type of number is certainly possible for Matthews in his career but it will be really hard. He has the talent to do it but you need to score in close to every game.
As we head toward the playoffs, it will be interesting to see what number Matthews can get to. You can bank on the fact that all he cares about now is winning once the playoffs start. That is going to be the biggest focus of every player on the Maple Leafs.