Auston Matthews hit another milestone in the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night at Prudential Center. Matthews scored his 66th goal of the season, passing the mark set by Alex Ovechkin in the 2007-08 season. That year, Ovechkin recorded 65 goals.
Last year, Connor McDavid fell short of that mark by one goal, notching 64 goals in his Hart Trophy campaign. You know he wanted to pass Ovechkin and McDavid. Matthews’s previous high was 60 goals, but he has been in the conversation with Ovechkin as one of the best pure goal scorers in the NHL, so to pass him is a big deal.
“It’s cool (to pass Ovechkin). He’s obviously who he is and what he’s done for the game and what he’s accomplished,” Matthews said. “It’s an honor to be in the same sentence with him.”
And now there is talk of him once again hitting 70 goals. However, Auston Matthews is not even focused on hitting that mark. Instead, he wants to help his team win and finish the regular season strong.
“I think the process is the same every night,” Matthews said. “I find when you really overthink it and kind of almost want it too much it almost doesn’t go your way so I try and approach it the same.”
The way he approaches the game is remarkable. During warmups, he works on his hands and his shots. Matthews and buddy Mitch Marner are the last two to leave the ice, and they work on different-angle shots. He has one of the best releases in the game.
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That is the exact mindset the greats of the game should have. Do not try to force the issue when it comes to chasing a milestone. Instead, keep focusing on doing the little things right. Keep the same mindset. It is about team success first, and individual success comes with that.
You can see this firsthand when Aaron Judge tried to get the single-season home run mark for the New York Yankees. The Yankees just rode him into the group. They tried hard to get him every chance to get that record, moving him around in the lineup. But that made things worse. It probably would not have taken so long if Judge had stayed in his usual spot in the lineup.
Matthews is elevating the talent of Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi as the Stanley Cup Playoffs approach. What Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs do in the regular season does not matter. He can set all the records he wants, but it comes down to postseason success.
“Obviously, you want to make sure that, individually and as a team, we’re doing the right things night in and night out on both sides of the puck that will translate well in the postseason,” Matthews continued.
The Maple Leafs looked better defensively approaching than they did in years past heading into the playoffs. But again, the result in the playoffs matters, not these regular season statistics.
Eight players in NHL history have recorded 70 goals in the regular season. Wayne Gretzky did it four times, followed by Brett Hull (three times), Mario Lemieux (twice), Alexander Mogilny, Phil Esposito, Teemu Selanne, Jari Kurri, and Bernie Nicholls.
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