Auston Matthews Surpasses Hall of Famer in Goals During Historical Record Chase
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews found himself in the history books on Sunday as he passed a franchise legend in his chase for the team's all-time goal scorer.
In a wild and crazy game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday afternoon found itself the center of something pretty historic, at least in terms of the Maple Leafs.
Captain Auston Matthews scored against the Penguins on Sunday which means that he surpassed Hall of Famer and franchise icon Darryl Sittler for second all-time in goals with 390.
The feat leaves Matthews behind only Mats Sundin; arguably the greatest player in team history for top spot. Sundin potted 420 goals in his career with Toronto, and with only 30 goals separating them it's only a matter of time.
It's a great sign to see Matthews scoring, as the captain had only one goal in his last four games and was struggling with a bit of a drought before Sunday's historic tally.
Auston Matthews Makes History; Only 31 Away From Immortality
In 45 games this season, Matthews has 22 goals and 28 assists while adding a plus-4 rating and winning 56.1% of his face-offs. He's dealt with two separate stints on the IR as well, and had concerns about a potential additional injury during the 4 Nations.
Matthews accomplished the feat in 607 games meanwhile it took Sundin 981 to hold the record; though granted Sundin was more of a playmaker with wicked scoring ability than a pure scorer.
Toronto is going to need Matthews to keep this momentum going and keep scoring to give him the confidence going into the playoffs. A lot of concern comes around the ability to show up when it matters, so having every extra bit of help, well, helps.
Matthews will need to go on a torrid pace in order to pass Sundin this season, and would put him at yet another 50+ goal season, but that seems improbable though not completely impossible.
All in all, Matthews has already cemented himself as a legend and Hall of Famer in the future. He's a franchise icon, and it's now only a matter of when, not if, he becomes the greatest Maple Leaf of all time.
