Matthews could hit 40 before he turns 20
Leafs focused on playoff race, but scoring milestone seems attainable for rookie phenom
It may be more than just wordplay to say “the sky is the limit” for Leafs rookie Auston Matthews.
After scoring two more goals in the Leafs’ 7-1 wipeout of the New York Islanders Tuesday, Matthews is approaching some rare territory — both among NHL rookies all time, and among top goal scorers in the league this season.
Matthews, with those two goals, both in the third period, now has 27 for the season, tops among NHL rookies. Rival Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets is right on Matthews’ tail with 26 after scoring a hat trick against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
No rookie has scored 40 goals in his debut season since Alex Ovechkin notched 52 in 2005-06. Sidney Crosby potted 39 the same year. Michael Grabner had 34 in 2010-11and Evgeni Malkin had 33 in 2006-07.
Is 40 goals something to look for from Matthews?
It’s a lofty plateau, but the potential is there to reach it; the 19-year-old needs to score 13 more times during the Leafs’ final 27 games. But Matthews — and the rest of the Leafs roster — will quickly intervene in any conversation about personal goals, saying the focus is on team first.
Matthews, though, is scoring goals from in close and scoring by driving the net. He’s showing the grit, determination, and commitment to winning hockey ingrained in successful veteran players.
“He’s a good player, it’s hard to score in the NHL and he goes to traffic areas . . . that’s where he scored tonight,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.
For Matthews, the two goals also put him within three of Crosby, who sits atop the league in goals and points, and notched an assist Tuesday to reach 999 points in his career.
This was a goal-fest for the Leafs, who reached seven for the first time this season in an important win over the Islanders.
Nazem Kadri had one of two firstperiod goals to reach a career-high 21. William Nylander, Tyler Bozak and Matt Hunwick and Josh Leivo — each with their first of the season — also scored for Toronto, which won for the third time in nine games.
New York entered the game trailing Toronto by a single point in the standings.
Toronto was in an almost must-win position — beat the Islanders, or slip out of a wild-card berth. The Leafs did the job, too, keeping Islanders’ captain John Tavares off the board and rising three points over the New Yorkers in the standings.
The Islanders gave the Leafs all they could handle early on — but couldn’t solve Leafs goalie Freddie Andersen, who made several highlight-reel saves to keep the Leafs ahead on the scoreboard and earn his 100th career win.
Something of a controversial call tightened the score briefly. The Islanders’ Jason Chimera scored on a penalty shot at 16:55 of the second to make it 3-1, after Leafs defenceman Matt Hunwick made contact with him on a breakaway.
The call sparked a loud round of boos from the home crowd, who felt a light tap on Chimera’s gloves from Hunwick hardly warranted a penalty shot.
The Leafs are expected to start backup goalie Curtis McElhinney Wednesday in Columbus against his old team.