Toronto centre Auston Matthews became the NHL’s first two-time 60-goal scorer in 30 years, scoring with 5:37 left in the Maple Leafs’ 3-0 victory over the host Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
Matthews matched the franchise record he set when he led the NHL in goals two seasons ago. The 26-year-old joins a group of eight NHL players to have multiple 60-goal seasons, and first since Pavel Bure had back-to-back 60-goal campaigns with the Vancouver Canucks in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy lead the list with five 60-goal seasons.
Matthews, from Scottsdale, Arizona, became the first U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.
60 <br><br>Unbelievable. <a href=”https://t.co/YlALc6i3nh”>pic.twitter.com/YlALc6i3nh</a>
—@NHL
Matthews celebrated by going down to one knee and punching the air, before being mobbed by his Maple Leafs teammates at the boards. Though a road game for Toronto, the stands were filled with a large contingent of Maple Leafs fans, who began chanting “MVP! MVP!”
The goal came in the same arena where the Maple Leafs selected Matthews with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft.
Source Agencies
