TORONTO: Auston Matthews got closer and closer to an incredible goal scoring feat. In the process, the Maple Leafs shooter passed a club icon and set yet another team record.
Clipperton, Joshua, The Canadian Press
around seven hours ago
The number 20240411210452-528caf900d55b7988962f3652ff0f1c6493f4986036d68aa9e9dbc8b4ae7b660
On Thursday, April 11, 2024, during third period NHL hockey action in Toronto, left wing Ondrej Palat (18) of the New Jersey Devils watches the puck go past Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) as teammate Tyler Bertuzzi (59) of the Toronto Maple Leafs defends. Nathan Denette, The Canadian Press
TORONTO: Auston Matthews got closer and closer to an incredible goal scoring feat.
In the process, the Maple Leafs shooter passed a club icon and set yet another team record.
On the other hand, Toronto can now almost guarantee that they will begin the Stanley Cup playoffs on the road.
On a night when Matthews scored two more goals for a league-high 68 on the season, Jesper Bratt scored his second goal of the game with 1:14 remaining in regulation on Thursday to help the New Jersey Devils defeat the Leafs 6-5.
“A little sloppy at times,” the great centre, who has scored nine goals in his last seven games, described the overall effort. “Didn’t seem like we were as dialled in as we should have been.”
The remainder of New Jersey’s offence came from Timo Meier, who finished with two goals and an assist, Erik Haula, and Nolan Foote (38-37-5). For the Devils, who are playing for pride and jobs in 2024–25 after being knocked out of postseason contention, Jake Allen made 27 saves. Luke Hughes contributed two helpers.
“Demonstrated the strength of our teamwork,” stated Bratt, who also contributed an assist for a three-point performance.
Toronto’s other goals came from David Kampf and John Tavares, both with two (46-24-9). 14 saves were made by Ilya Samsonov. Mitch Marner and Max Domi each contributed two assists. William Nylander made his 600th appearance during the regular season.
With three games remaining in their schedule, the Leafs are currently five points behind the Florida Panthers for second place in the Atlantic Division.
There are two games left for Florida, starting at home against Toronto on Tuesday. The Bruins still have three games remaining in their schedule, but the Panthers are behind Boston by the same amount.
Sheldon Keefe, head coach of the Leafs, described the game as “loose, strange.” “Not one that you love, but we’ll move on.”
With 69 goals in 1995–96, Matthews is on pace to become the first player to achieve 70 in almost thirty years. Currently, his total is the highest in the NHL since Mario Lemieux’s.
Tavares called it “remarkable.” “It’s really special.”
Though the score was knotted 4–4 after two periods, Matthews was called for tripping in the third, and the Devils took advantage when Bratt defeated Samsonov with this 26th at 11:03.
With 4:47 remaining in regulation, Tavares tied the score with his second goal of the game and his 26th of the season off a Morgan Rielly setup.
But when Bratt scored his 27th off the rush with 74 seconds left, the Devils answered.
“We don’t want to play this up-and-down, freewheeling (style),” Matthews stated.
After a frantic and careless first half that saw them trail 3-2, Matthews scored his second goal of the game and 68th of the season at 7:59, sparking cries of ‘M-V-P!’ from the Scotiabank Arena bleachers.
With the score, the sniper overtook Mats Sundin for the greatest goal total in franchise history, his 274th at even strength.
Just 1:17 later, Kampf made a great play to score his eighth goal, just before Devils defenseman Simon Nemec tangled with Matthews. Domi lost his cool and threw down the gauntlet with the rookie, but he was sidelined for the next seventeen minutes for insubordination and being called an aggressor.
With 11.6 seconds remaining in the frame, Meier scored his second of the game and his 27th overall on a man advantage to tie the game at four points after forty minutes. This gave the Devils a 4-4 lead.
Tavares scored the first goal eighteen seconds in. Haula answered with his 16th after 21 seconds.
At 6:08, Matthews fired his 67th and 366th of his career to move up to third on the franchise’s all-time list, surpassing Dave Keon.
“Nice to reflect on for a little while,” he replied. “But there’s a bigger goal in mind.”
At 7:57, Foote regained the advantage by taking advantage of a giveaway to open his 2023–24 account.
Meier scored at 12:37 to give the Devils a 3-2 lead. Matthews then tied the score with No. 68 in the second quarter. The Devils had the first power play of the game.
And prepared the audience for this Saturday’s last home game of the regular season, which will feature a focus on No. 34 chasing No. 70.
Keefe claimed, “He’s rewriting the record books.” Many Leaf supporters have never seen that many goals in the NHL in their lifetime. It’s quite impressive. Who knows where this will go in the end?
“I wouldn’t put any limit on it.”
DESERT DISAPPEARANCE?
Scottsdale, Arizona, native Matthews was questioned regarding the possibility of the Arizona Coyotes moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, as early as the upcoming season.
“Selfishly, growing up there, them being a big part of me getting into hockey, I’d love for them to figure it out,” he stated. “However, you also recognise the situation the NHL finds itself in.
