Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews scores his 66th goal, breaking the salary-cap era single-season record
Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Auston Matthews scored his 66th goal of the season on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils, breaking the salary-cap era’s single-season record for most goals.
AM34 scores his 66th of the season! 🚨🔥
Auston Matthews passes Alex Ovechkin for the most goals in a single season by any active player! pic.twitter.com/xh6cl0Gm0q
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 10, 2024
Matthews passed Alex Ovechkin’s high-mark of 65 from the 2007-08 campaign with the Washington Capitals. With four games to go, the focus is now on if Matthews can become the first player since Teemu Selanne and Alexaner Mogilny hit the 70-goal mark in 1992-93 (they both scored 76).
AM HAS 66! 🙌
Auston Matthews (@AM34) now has the most goals in a single season by any active player! pic.twitter.com/FvXCrXA1zf
— NHL (@NHL) April 10, 2024
The Maple Leafs would win the game 4-2, improving their record to 46-23-9. With the Florida Panthers winning 2-1 over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, Toronto remains three points behind the Panthers for third in the Atlantic Division.
Earlier on Tuesday, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk recorded the newest episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, discussing Matthews scoring his 65th goal of the season on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and how many the soon-to-be three-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy-winning forward could end up with.
Frank Seravalli: For perspective, Matthews is only the 13th player to get to 65 goals. There’s been a few thousand players over the course of 100-plus years to play in an NHL game, but only 13 have scored 65 goals in one season. Only 13.
It’s an even more elite category to get to that 70-goal mark, and we all root for round numbers. We’re watching the standings and figuring out the math, and you might think the Maple Leafs don’t have much to play for, but that No. 2 spot in the Atlantic Division still very much in play for Toronto.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…