Auston Matthews makes his feelings known on surpassing Darryl Sittler to become second highest goal scorer in Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews made history Sunday afternoon, passing franchise legend Darryl Sittler for second place on the team’s all-time goal-scoring list. Matthews notched his 390th goal in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

Matthews now sits alone in second place on the franchise’s all-time goal-scoring list, trailing former captain Mats Sundin by 30 goals. Sundin holds the record with 420.

Following the game, Auston Matthews reflected on surpassing Sittler, as quoted by the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby:

“An honour to be in the same sentence as Darryl Sittler. He paved the way for a lot of us.”

Matthews reached the milestone in 237 fewer games than Sittler. At 27, he is 30 goals away from claiming the franchise lead.

Auston Matthews added to his comments, per Sportsnet:

"It’s nice to be in the same sentence as a guy like Darryl Sittler. Obviously a great Leaf… So, it’s a big honor to be in the game sentence.”

Matthews has tallied 22 goals and 51 points in 45 games this seaso.

Auston Matthews reaches another major milestone with Toronto Maple Leafs

In the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-5 overtime win over the Penguins, Matthews reached another career milestone — his 700th point. The achievement came as part of a two-point effort.

In addition to his second-period goal, which tied the game at 3, Matthews assisted on William Nylander’s overtime winner. The assist was his 29th of the season and helped extend Toronto’s win streak to five.

Here’s a look at Nylander’s overtime winner:

Matthews passed the puck to Nylander before heading off for a line change. Nylander held onto it, waiting for reinforcements before firing a rocket past Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist, sealing the wild 6-5 victory.

With the win, the Leafs reclaimed first place in the Atlantic Division after the Florida Panthers briefly leapfrogged them with a 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. The Leafs now have 78 points and hold one game in hand over the Panthers.

The Leafs will be back in action Monday night against the San Jose Sharks. It will be the Leafs’ third game in four nights before they embark on a West Coast road trip.