Oh, so close
Matthews can’t crack 70-goal club as Leafs turn sights to playoffs
TAMPA, FLA. Two historic hockey numbers were up for grabs in an otherwise meaningless seasonending game between the Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay’s MVP candidate, got his. Auston Matthews, Toronto’s MVP candidate, didn’t get his.
Kucherov had a goal and, more importantly, his 100th assist of the season as the Lightning beat the Leafs 6-4 on Wednesday to wrap up the NHL season for both teams.
Though the Leafs are going into the playoffs with four losses in a row, there probably wasn’t much to read in to recent games with injuries, healthy regulars scratched and very little to play for as a team.
They finished with 107 points, third in team history, and Matthews’s spectacular season led a long list of accomplishments. His 69 goals in a season were the most in Leafs history, and tied for the 15th in NHL history with Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy.
“I wanted (the 70th goal), for sure, but it wasn’t meant to be,” said Matthews, who had 12 shots on goal and hit a crossbar against the Lightning. “We need to turn our focus to the playoffs and heading to Boston.”
Leafs captain John Tavares said before the game that was “no question that we’re seeing something truly special. Just appreciate it every night.”
Tavares knows a little bit what it’s like to score that many. He had 72 in 67 games with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2006-07.
“I wasn’t in the NHL,” Tavares said. “It’s remarkable what he’s able to do, his puck skills. We talk a lot about his body control and how he handles the puck and takeaways and using his body. But I also think it’s just how smart he is and how he just finds openings.”
Matthews had 18 multi-goal nights this season, the most by any player since Alexander Mogilny in 1992-93, and he passed Dave Keon for third place on Toronto’s all-time goals list. And when the season ends Thursday, the 26-year-old Matthews will have his third Rocket Richard Trophy.
“It’s pretty special,” teammate Nick Robertson said. “When you’re in the moment, it’s hard to grasp. Maybe looking back on it, it’s kind of crazy that someone was going for 70 goals. I don’t even know when the last time someone got 70 goals.”
Robertson, like Tavares, is another player who knows what it’s like to score a goal a game. He had 55 in 46 games in his final OHL season (2019-20) with the Peterborough Petes.
“Oh, it feels great,” Robertson said. “Here’s a different level, though. It’s hard. I won’t be scoring 55 in 40something games here. So you definitely appreciate the goals more often in this league.”
Hard-luck Willie
William Nylander fell short of his first 100-point season, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He finished with 97. He had an assist taken away from Game 81 overnight, upon an official review of the scoring play. He had one goal called back due to an offside video review at home to New Jersey on April 11, and two points removed due to goaltender interference: April 9 in New Jersey and Jan. 27 against Winnipeg.
Joining the legends
Matthews had his second 100-point season. Darryl Sittler and Doug Gilmour are the only other Leafs to do that … Matthews is the only Leaf with five consecutive seasons of at least 40 goals … Morgan Rielly became the third Leafs defenceman to record multiple 50-assist seasons. Only Borje Salming, who did it five times, had more … Mark Giordano had two goals after the age of 40, joining Allan Stanley as the only Leaf to score twice at that age … Matthews is sixth in franchise history in points, Marner is eighth, Nylander 13th, Rielly 15th and Tavares 22nd … Max Domi became the first Domi to lead the Leafs in penalty minutes (118) since his father Tie (208) in 2003-04.
Player notes
Ilya Samsonov set a new singleseason career-high in wins (27) … Jake McCabe set a new single-season high in points (26) … Nylander was the only Leaf to play all 82 games, and set a career high in points. He also had the fourthlongest points streak in team history at 17 games.
Load management
How meaningless was this game? Both teams played their thirdstring goalie and Tampa Bay dressed only 17 skaters. And with Kucherov and Matthews going for glory, Tampa coach Jon Cooper offered up a fun idea that might have been fitting.
“If we were going to coach differently, (Leafs coach) Sheldon (Keefe) and I would both pull our goalie in the first five minutes. Get it over with. In the end, would anybody really remember that? Probably not.”
The Leafs rested defencemen Rielly, McCabe and Joel Edmundson.
Keefe said there’s a “chance” any or all of injured forwards Calle Järnkrok (hand), Domi (lower body) and Bobby McMann (lower body) will be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I would say all three are possibilities,” he said.