In Tuesday’s victory, Matthews not only finished tied with Ryan Reaves for the most hits by a Leafs player with six, but he also finished with three points and a team-high eight shots on goal.
“Auston, two assists and a goal,” stated head coach Sheldon Keefe. “He’s all over tonight’s stat sheet. He’s positively impacting the game for us in a lot of ways. But to me, it was all about his working style and competitiveness. He was tough and strong, dominating puck battles on the ice.
John Tavares, the team captain, continued, “[Heck] of a goal.” “The objective is one thing, clearly unique. There aren’t many guys in the world with those innate abilities, hands, and finishing touch. However, as he mentioned earlier, the competitive element,
With a career-high 69 goals in the regular season, the 26-year-old center claimed his third Rocket Richard Trophy and ended with eight game-winners for the second consecutive season. Last season, he did not score the game-winning goal in the postseason, going 11 games without a point while leading the Maple Leafs to their first-ever postseason victory with five goals and 11 points.
With his goal on Tuesday, he reached 70 goals since the regular season began and it was his first of the 2024 postseason.
Ullmark remarked of Matthews’ goal, “Yeah, there’s a reason he scored 69.” So, the next time, try to catch him. I’m done talking about it now.
