Matthews scores 60th goal of season for Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews became the first United States-born player in NHL history to score 60 goals in a season when he scored two for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tuesday.

"It was pretty special," Matthews said. "Just the reception from my teammates, the crowd, everything, it just kind of sends a chill down your bones but it's kind of hard to put into words.
"It means a lot. Just how tight-knit we are in this locker room. It's like a family in there, a brotherhood, so it means a lot just to have their support and just the reaction from them, that's what it is all about."
The 24-year-old center, who was born in San Ramon, California, is the first NHL player to reach the milestone in a decade. Steven Stamkos scored 60 for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011-12.
Matthews scored No. 59 at 15:48 of the second period in front off a feed from Jason Spezza from behind the net. It was Matthews' first goal in six games, ending his longest drought of the season.

He scored No. 60 at 5:49 of the third period on the power play from the high slot.
"It's special, it's unique, it's rare. I'm just really happy for him," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He works extremely hard. You know the abilities that he has, but he works extremely hard at his game. He works extremely hard off the ice. He takes his craft very seriously, so to see him at the top of his game reaching these milestones, it's outstanding."
With the win, the Maple Leafs clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and home ice for the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will face either the Lightning or Boston Bruins.
"It's extremely difficult to do, obviously," Stamkos said Tuesday. "He's making it look pretty easy with the way he can shoot the puck and score goals. Probably took it a little close to the wire for his comfort. ... Amazing player, amazing goal-scorer and a guy that's going to score a lot more in this league. It looks like we may see him in a week, so we're going to have our work cut out for us, but obviously a great milestone for a very good player."
Matthews passed Rick Vaive for the most goals in a season in Maple Leafs history when he scored No. 55 in a 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars on April 7. He then scored No. 56 in overtime of the same game to set the record for most goals in a season by a United States-born player in NHL history, passing Kevin Stevens (1992-93 with Pittsburgh Penguins) and Jimmy Carson (1987-88 with Los Angeles Kings).
He scored two goals in his next game against the Montreal Canadiens on April 9. Matthews did not score in the next three games, then missed three games because of an undisclosed injury before returning Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers. He did not score Sunday against the Washington Capitals.
Matthews is the 21st NHL player, and third active, to score at least 60 goals in a season. The other active players to do it are Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals (65 in 2007-08).
Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky share the NHL record for most 60-goal seasons with five each.
"Pretty unreal," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "Obviously a tremendous amount of love from the fans and a great way to do it, a beautiful goal. … I know I'm being biased, but to me it (the race for the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player) is not close. Just the way he goes about it, the way he does it, the consistency, some of the things he's done, you continue to shake your head at times. Just his ability to stay with it and play his game and stay focused on what he does. He just wants to be a difference-maker game in and game out."
NHL.com independent correspondents Dave McCarthy and Corey Long contributed to this report.