The 24-year-old forward scored at 18:58 of the second period of a
4-3 overtime win
to pass Rick Vaive, who scored 54 for Toronto in 1981-82. Matthews then scored No. 56 at 2:10 of overtime
"It means a lot," Matthews said. "The names that have come before us, just to be in the same breath as some of these guys, it's extremely humbling. It's a big honor.
"This feels really nice, but we're working towards something bigger than this. It's a nice steppingstone, but there's work to be done."
Vaive said he hopes to meet with Matthews on Saturday. He'll be in attendance when the Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens.
"The sky's the limit for this kid," Vaive told NHL.com on Monday. "Congratulations to him. Records are made to be broken, and I'm proud that mine was broken by such a generational player. He's just getting started too.
"He just seems to be getting better and better at both ends of the ice. I look forward to shaking his hand and congratulating him in person."
Matthews is the third United States-born player to score 55 goals in a season, joining Jimmy Carson, who scored 55 for the Los Angeles Kings in 1987-88, and Kevin Stevens, who scored 55 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-93.
He passed Carson and Stevens with No. 56 in overtime. It was his 12th shot on goal of the game.
"It's amazing," Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner said. "It's very impressive to do and it's a hard thing to do to score goals in this league, and he's made it look real easy. Especially over the past couple of games, and really couple of years, it's been a lot of fun to watch and a lot of fun to be on the ice for a lot of those to help him achieve that goal."
Matthews, who leads the NHL in goals this season, will try to become the first to score 60 since Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos in 2011-12. Toronto has 11 regular-season games remaining.
"When you have that arsenal of weapons he has, and the way shoots, I wouldn't be surprised if some time in his career he gets 70," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Monday.
Matthews' record-setting goal came one week after he became the fourth Maple Leafs player to score 50 in a 7-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 31. He joined Vaive, Gary Leeman (1989-90) and Dave Andreychuk (1993-94).
Mats Sundin, the Maple Leafs' all-time leader in goals (420) and points (987) and their captain from 1997-2009, said he thinks the best may be yet to come for Matthews.
"Congrats to Auston on such a great accomplishment," Sundin said last week. "If he stays in Toronto he might hold all the major scoring records, including mine."
Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said he's been impressed with how Matthews has kept his composure while gaining more attention with each goal.
"This is Auston [Matthews]'s night tonight," Keefe said. "It's much deserved and to finish it with an exclamation point, I think you write it like that. It's pretty good.
" … First of all, getting the 50 goals, that in itself is a milestone for him, and then no hesitation he's on to the next thing, which is the next game and the next challenge.
"I think his focus remains on leading this team and that's the best part about him, he just stays humble and continues to work. He knows he's a great player and knows that goals are going to come. It's just part of what he does for our club. He's leading our team in lots of different ways, and that's what I'm most excited about."
NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this story
