Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews Hit Major Career Milestone in Maple Leafs Win - Fans Erupt
Mitch Marner finally did what he hasn't been able to do for nearly a decade; and can now claim a stake in the century point club with a goal against Buffalo.
Adding to Toronto's historic night, Mitch Marner ended up scoring his 27th goal of the season, giving him 100 points for the first time in his career, and
Auston Matthews buried goal number 400 for his career.
It was an incredible bit of history considering Toronto already set the record for most wins on the road in franchise history.
To say that coming into Tuesday night that we would see three historic achievements in one sitting you wouldn't necessarily be crazy but at the same time you'd expect either one or the other.
Arguably the most surprising record that was hit tonight is Matthews' 400th goal and it's not because he's not good enough to score that many, but this season has certainly been a regression in terms of goals and if this is the catalyst for him to score more often; other teams need to have eyes in the back of their heads.
But that pushes
Matthews' season total to 77 points in 65 games (32G, 45A). Yes, he's scored less than half of last year's total, but he also missed 15 games with two IR stints as well as a renewed focus on defense and playmaking as opposed to running the offense through him.
That role was given to
Marner seemingly, and after reaching the 100-point plateau can firmly set himself amongst the NHL's elite, even if he hadn't already. Going into a contract year, he's done everything possible to maximize how much money he was going to make for his next deal.
The only thing left for him to do is make a deep playoff push and potentially win the Stanley Cup. He's proven that he can lead the offense, and with a strong and produce playoff push, then there's no doubt whether it's Toronto or someone else, he's going to lead for years to come.
Credit also needs to be given to
Anthony Stolarz, who is looking more and more like Toronto's #1 starter in the playoffs and with performances like Tuesday night's, then they are in good hands.
Congratulations to Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Craig Berube and the entire Maple Leafs team for one heck of a night.
Now just go out there and win the Stanley Cup and make some more history while you're at it.
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