Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews celebrates scoring his third goal of the period against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa, Florida on April 4.Jason Behnken/The Associated Press
Auston Matthews scored three times and tied a Toronto Maple Leafs franchise record with 54 goals in a single season Monday in a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
The 24-year-old center has at least one goal in 12 of the last 13 games and 47 in the last 47. The hat-trick, his third of the 2021-22 campaign, extended his league lead over Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl to four. .
“It’s crazy, I don’t even have words to describe it,” said goalkeeper Jack Campbell, who had 32 saves. “We are lucky to have him on this team.”
Matthews has a chance to score for a record 55th time Tuesday night at Sunrise against the Florida Panthers. Rick Vaive has held the previous record of 54 for 40 years.
“It’s humbling and it means a lot to me,” Matthews said.
Maple Leafs fans threw caps onto the opposing team’s home ice after Matthews scored for the third time with 7:08 remaining. He also scored twice in the second period, both on assists from Mitch Marner.
“I feel like a proud brother,” said Marner, who had a goal and three assists. “He is going to break the record and it will be even better when he does it.”
Toronto has now won five in a row and during the streak has wins over Florida, Boston and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay.
The Panthers lead the NHL Atlantic Division by seven points over the Maple Leafs, with the Bruins and Lightning tied for third place just two points behind them.
The game amounted to a possible playoff preview and provided all the excitement of a 60-minute ride at one of Florida’s exciting parks.
Early on, the teams traded numerous dangerous chances, goalkeepers made spectacular saves, there were numerous angry scrums, and the 266th consecutive sold-out crowd here created a deafening din as they booed the visitors, shouted unflattering things at the referees, beat drums and thunder sticks. and possibly sharing Electro Who-Cardio Flooxes.
Bolts Nation has high hopes for a third straight Stanley Cup, but may have to go through Toronto in the first round to do so. The opponents entered the contest tied for second in the NHL Atlantic Division, tied for fifth overall in the league and had split the first two games between them during the 2021-22 campaign.
With 13 regular-season contests remaining, none are likely to catch up with the Panthers in first place with the Bruins the only other possible fighter to start the postseason. Toronto plays each of the three one more time, including Boston in the final game of the season.
It was Toronto’s first game at Tampa since February 25, 2020 and the second of 15 games in April.
At this point, Toronto and Tampa Bay resemble each other. Through 69 games, the Maple Leafs have been better in every offensive category, while the Lightning have had the edge in goal under two-time Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy. Of course, one club has the pedigree of a champion, while the other hasn’t even won a playoff series since 2004.
It didn’t look like that on an appropriately balmy and blustery spring afternoon on the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast. Six days after beating the Bruins in Boston, the Maple Leafs took the load off the Lightning.
Pierre Engvall hit a wrist shot from 30 feet less than two minutes after the puck dropped to put Toronto ahead. Nikita Kucherov then scored with a hard wrist strike straight off a Steven Stamkos win to tie it 1-1 with 13:36 remaining in the first.
Matthews scored his first of the night early in the second period, but then defenseman Jan Rutta leveled things up again with 14:14 remaining before the second intermission.
Matthews then hit one directly off Vasilevskiy to put Toronto ahead for good 3-2 three minutes into the second period. Alexander Kerfoot added another with 7:35 to go in the second.
Matthews got his third of the game with 12:52 left in regulation. Marner finished the scoring with 8:36 left.
Toronto now has a small foothold over Tampa Bay for home-field advantage should they meet in the first round starting in the first week of May.
“We came into this trip excited about the opportunity,” said Sheldon Keefe. Toronto began the trip in Philadelphia and completes it in Dallas on Thursday. “These two games in a row have been a flashing light on our schedule all season.”
Toronto now has a very small foot on Tampa Bay for home-field advantage should they meet in the first round starting in the first week of May.
They meet again, again in Tampa, on April 21.
Toronto is now 8-3 in its last 11, while Tampa Bay is 6-4-1. The Maple Leafs have won five in a row.
“This was a great game for us,” Matthews said. “They are a very good team and they know how to win.
“It’s really positive. At this point in the season you want to build momentum.”
Vasilevskiy went 35-14-4 with a .919 save percentage. He continues to lead the NHL in wins and is trying to finish the regular season first or tied for first in wins for the fifth straight season.
On this night he stopped only 33 of 39 shots.
The Maple Leafs played without William Nylander, who missed the game with an illness unrelated to COVID-19. Defenseman Jake Muzzin may return to the lineup Tuesday against Florida. He has been out with a head injury since February 21. As of Monday he has missed 20 games.
Most of the team talk now centers on Matthews, of course.
“Man, it’s fun to watch,” Campbell said. “He leads by example every day. It’s like a role model. He is a little younger than me and I look up to him every day.”
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