Auston Matthews continues to level up: Can he hit 70?
Hockey fans are witnessing a historic season by Leafs star Auston Matthews as he hopes to be the first player since 1992-1993 to score 70 goals in a season.
Coming off a 40-goal campaign last season, Matthews has exploded for 52 goals in 57 games silencing any critics he had at the start of the season. In February he recorded 12 goals in 11 games including two hattricks. He continues to break scoring records and has already sparked some dialogue surrounding potentially chasing Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin for the most goals of all time.
Matthews has recorded 15 power-play goals and zero empty-net goals meaning the majority of his goals have been at even strength. He has shown the ability to score anywhere on the ice and in the key moments of the game as he leads the National Hockey League (NHL) for most late game-tying goals.
At age 26 Auston Matthews has already solidified himself as one of the greatest goal-scorers of all time after he joined some elite company becoming only the 10th player to register six hatricks in a single campaign.
Head Coach Sheldon Keefe has said multiple times this season that Matthews seems to have leveled up and is showing dominance on the ice.
Along with his incredible goal-scoring ability, it is evident that Matthews has stepped into a leadership role this season. He has held the team accountable when needed and has encouraged his teammates along the way. Additionally, his continued support towards Ilya Samsonov and Tyler Bertuzzi despite their early struggles is something that Leaf fans haven’t seen out of the superstar in previous years. Not to mention he has taken over games when it mattered most which is showing signs of his maturity, confidence, and championship mindset.
Matthews will certainly win the Rocket Richard Trophy for the most goals but his ability to play on both ends of the ice as well as his scoring output has made him a strong candidate for both the Selke and MVP awards.
Matthews looks to continue his dominance as he chases history when the Leafs take on his hometown team the Arizona Coyotes tonight.
Credit: NHLPA.com
