Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored twice in the second period against the New York Islanders on Saturday night, passing Mats Sundin to set the franchise record for career goals with 421.
“It means a lot, it’s a very historic franchise,” Matthews said. “There's a lot of pride here… I'm very touched. I couldn't do this without a great group of guys around me.”
His first goal tied Sundin's score at 420 when Matthews entered the offensive zone past Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, switched the puck from his backhand to his forehand and carried it past goaltender David Rittich at 9:30 of the second period. The score became equal 1-1.
Just 7:49 later, Matthews hit his second of the game and 20th of the season to give Toronto the lead by burying Bobby McMann's cross-ice feed with one touch.
Matthew Schaefer scored twice for the Islanders, including in the final minute of overtime, leading the Islanders to a 4–3 victory.
“A club with a tremendous history, a tradition of the players who came before him,” John Tavares said of Matthews. “Hopefully it won't be lost because of the loss. Amazing moment for him and a damn player.”
Matthews had his second consecutive multi-goal game after scoring a hat trick in the Maple Leafs' 6-5 win over Winnipeg on Friday night. He now has six goals and 10 points in four games since the NHL Christmas break. He missed Toronto's 4-0 win over New Jersey on Tuesday night.
“It’s incredible, congratulations to him,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “He's accomplished a lot, he had a strong game again tonight… He drives the bus, he runs the game for us and everyone feeds off of him.”
Matthews, who is in his second season as captain of the Maple Leafs after taking over for Tavares, ranks fourth all-time in points with 760, behind Sundin (987), Darryl Sittler (916) and Dave Keon (858).
Sundin, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, scored 420 goals in 981 games for the Maple Leafs. Matthews, named to Team USA for the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina next month, surpassed his mark in his 664th game.
