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Auston Matthews on Wednesday completed his half-century of goals this season after netting for the Leafs against the Arizona Coyotes.
Matthews reached 50 goals in 54 games, becoming the fastest US-born player to the landmark in NHL history. Moreover, he's also the fastest active player to reach the 50-goal mark. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers had done so in 61 games.
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Auston Matthews also broke his own record of 62 games. The 26-year-old achieved the mark after scoring on the powerplay at 5:01 of the first period against the Coyotes at the Mullett Arena.
He slid the puck into the back of the Coyotes' net from a wrist shot off the right face-off circle to put the Leafs 2-0 up. Matthews took his tally to 51, scoring another on the powerplay with less than five minutes remaining before the intermission as Toronto led 4-3.
NHL fans reacted to Matthews reaching the milestone, with some drawing comparisons with Connor McDavid and other players. One tweeted:
"Still not even in the same realm as 97"
Another chimed in:
"He’s going to hit 82, and people will still be upset that he wins the heart."
Here are some of the other top reactions on X:
How many hattricks has Auston Matthews scored this season?
Matthews has been in red-hot form this season. The 25-year-old forward has scored six hattricks, the most in the league.
The record for the most hattricks scored in a season belongs to "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky (10), who did so twice for the Edmonton Oilers (1981-82, 1983-84).
Auston Matthews also leads the league in goals (51) this season. The two-time Maurice "Rocket" Trophy winner has netted an impressive 17 times in his last 14 games.
Should Matthews continue at the same pace, he's projected to end the campaign with 70 goals, which has been accomplished only 14 times in the league. It has not been recorded since 1992-93, though, when Teemu Selane scored 76 goals.
Drafted No. 1 overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL draft, Matthews has scored 349 goals in 535 games, which includes six 40-goal campaigns in his eight-year tenure with Toronto.
