During the second period between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders, Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored two goals.
Both his tallies have a place in Maple Leafs history as his first goal equalled Mats Sundin’s 420 goals in the Blue and White. Later in the period, Matthews fired home a one-timer to take sole possession of first place on the franchise’s all-time goal list.
All of his teammates cleared the bench to congratulate him on the milestone.
His one-timer was set up by Bobby McMann, and Max Domi provided the crucial secondary helper with a puck battle at the blue line to keep the puck alive. Matthews’ two goals gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead going into the third period.
Matthews’ latest goal was his 20th of the campaign. That puts him on pace to score around 43 goals, which is 10 more than what he recorded last season.
There’s a little more to the story of his offensive production. Matthews wasn’t at his best to start this season, but he’s been red-hot as of late. In his past four games, the 28-year-old center has six goals and 10 points.
In 317 fewer games than Sundin, Matthews now has the most goals by any Maple Leaf. With 421 goals, Matthews has 760 career points in 664 NHL games.
Following Matthews’ record-breaking goal, Sundin left a video message, congratulating him on the historic milestone.
‘What a treat for all Maple Leafs fans, around the world, to have a player like yourself,’ Sundin said in the video.
In the points department, Matthews still has to surpass four legendary Maple Leafs to own that title. That includes Borje Salming, Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler and Sundin.
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