Having fun flirting with 50
With 46 goals, Matthews could reach milestone in short order
The path to 50 goals doesn’t always have to be a serious one.
Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews, who entered Friday first in the NHL with 46 goals, is expected to reach 50 for the first time in his career in the next week or so. The Leafs have six games in the next 10 days.
Matthews admitted recently he has thought of the plateau — he likely would have hit the mark the past two seasons if they weren’t shortened because of COVID-19 — but his first focus is helping the team win games.
And, though his quest for 50 is only adding to the attention he normally receives, Matthews has been able to enjoy himself off the ice. He got a kick out of the Leafs’ “Next Gen” jersey, created by the design company of friend Justin Bieber and worn in Wednesday’s win over New Jersey
“I thought it was awesome, I thought it looked good,” Matthews said. “I like the black. I think when you wear black on the ice, it’s pretty intimidating, it kind of makes you look bigger, so it kind of helps us out in that department. I thought it was cool and unique to flip them inside out. The jerseys looked great and I thought they turned out well.”
Bieber collaborated on the creation of the jersey, a black and blue design that reversed to show a sec- ond black and yellow design, and he was at Wednesday’s game, visiting the Leafs’ dressing room afterward. The night had a hockey star/pop star air to it that made the Leafs’ room feel something like an Oscars after party.
“It was cool, I’ve gotten to hang out with (Bieber) a couple of times, with Auston there,” forward Mitch Marner said. “It’s cool to get a guy like (Bieber) involved, who loves the Leafs like he does, and the jersey collaboration was cool … It was neat for the guys to meet him and kind of like fan-boy over him. And he’s got his love for us, he respects the work we put in, and it’s cool when you get something like that.”
Matthews and Marner, along with linemate Michael Bunting, are on career rolls at the moment. Matthews set a personal best with his 80th point Wednesday, while Marner scored his career-best 27th goal. Bunting, meanwhile, is in the thick of the Calder trophy race.
Matthews obviously welcomes Marner’s success — the winger has 15 goals since Feb. 1 — in part because it opens more ice for him. And that only helps his pursuit of 50 goals and more.
“I think (Marner’s) shot has been something that he’s been working on quite a bit,” Matthews said. “I was teasing him about the (goal against New Jersey), it was so pretty … It’s kind of one of the things he’s working on during the skills and skates we have prior to practice or after it.
“I think it makes it probably harder to defend us. All three of us can score and make plays out there and feed off each other. (We’re) just reading off each other and finding the open man and just being able to attack in the offensive zone.”