The center scored with 4:19 left in the third period of a
5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens
.
"So much is about the players you play with," Matthews said. "Experience is a big thing and you gain more confidence. I've been fortunate to play with some really good players and really good teammates in my five years here. Every year just try to get better and push for more. I think that's a big thing that goes into the plan."
He is the first NHL player to score 40 goals in fewer than 50 games since the 1999-00 season, when Pavel Bure scored his 40th in his 48th game for the Florida Panthers.
In the NHL expansion era (since 1967-68), 46 players have scored 40 goals in fewer than 50 games. Matthews missed four games this season with a wrist injury.
"It's incredible, he makes it look so easy," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "It's unreal to watch and it's a testament to him and his work ethic. His skill set is exceptional, one of the best in the game. He should be celebrated and he deserves all that recognition. At this level, in this league, it's extremely hard to score, so to do it as often as he does, as consistent as he is, it's extremely impressive."
Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers, 1983-84) and Alexander Mogilny (Buffalo Sabres, 1992-93) each scored his 40th goal in his 35th game to hold the NHL record.
Frank Mahovlich scored 40 goals in 48 games for Toronto in 1960-61.
Toronto played its 53rd game. There have been 72 players in the expansion era to score 40 goals in his team's first 53 games.
Matthews has scored 19 goals in his past 19 games, including in five straight games.
"I want to score, I want to produce and do those things," Matthews said earlier. "But I've just been trying to do the little things that help the team win and put the momentum back on our side. It's more than just scoring goals. Obviously, that's what I'm here to do, that's what I want to do, but just playing that full 200-foot game, competing night in, night out. That's all I can look to myself to do."
Matthews is nine goals ahead of Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers for the NHL lead this season. The 23-year-old can become the first Maple Leafs player in 75 years, and the first United States-born player in 24 years, to lead the NHL in goals.
Maple Leafs forward Gaye Stewart scored 37 to lead the NHL in 1945-46. The last U.S.-born player to do so was Keith Tkachuk, who scored 52 for the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996-97.
The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthews has scored 197 goals in 330 games. He scored 47 in 70 games last season, one fewer than NHL leaders Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins.
He scored 40 in 82 games as a rookie in 2016-17 and has never scored fewer than 34 in his five NHL seasons.
Toronto (34-13-6), which has qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, is first in the seven-team Scotia North Division.
"I've used a lot of words on him, but there's been so much to talk about all season long," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "It's just so great to see him get rewarded offensively because he puts a lot of pressure on himself. He knows that he has great responsibility to produce for our team offensively, and he's delivering on it at such a great rate."
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger and independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report
