Matthews can score 60 again for Maple Leafs, Kane, Ovechkin say

Auston Matthews used subtlety to score his first goal of the season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs center found a soft spot in the slot against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. As teammate Mark Giordano prepared to shoot from the left point, Matthews turned his body so he could extend his stick waist-high into the shooting lane.
Giordano released a wrist shot, and Matthews tipped the puck ever so slightly, just enough. The puck handcuffed goalie Charlie Lindgren, pinballing off his glove and blocker, slipping past his mask, down his back and into the net at 6:55 of the third period.
The goal ended up making the difference in a 3-2 win for the Maple Leafs (2-1-0), who host the Arizona Coyotes on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNW, BSAZ, ESPN+, SN NOW).
You never know how Matthews might beat you. Will it be with his quick hands? Quick feet? Hockey sense? Relentlessness? Will it be with his 6-foot-3, 220-pound size? At even strength? On the power play? From a distance? In tight?
That's how he scored 60 goals last season, and that's why there is good reason to believe the 25-year-old will sustain his goal-scoring for the foreseeable future.
Matthews won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's goal-scoring champion for the second straight time last season, plus the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.
He has a chance to become the first NHL player to score 60 goals in back-to-back seasons since Pavel Bure scored 60 for the Vancouver Canucks in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
"I don't see why not," said Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, the only other player born in the United States to win the Hart. "Seems like every year he gets a little better, whether it's his all-around game or his offensive game.
"I think he's a guy who doesn't really rely on one way to score goals, either, right? He scores a lot of goals a lot of different ways: in front of the net, one-timers, quick release. So, yeah, he's pretty dynamic all over the ice. I don't see why he wouldn't keep it up."
Matthews, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, has been an elite goal-scorer since his NHL debut, when he had four goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 12, 2016. He scored 40 goals in his first season and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.
He hasn't played a full 82-game season since because of injuries and shortened schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. (He also served a two-game suspension last season for cross-checking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on March 13.)
Still, he had 34 goals in 62 games in 2017-18, 37 in 68 in 2018-19, 47 in 70 in 2019-20, 41 in 52 in 2020-21 and 60 in 73 last season.
Look at that in terms of goals per game: 0.49 as a rookie, 0.55 in 2017-18, 0.54 in 2019-20, 0.67 in 2019-20, 0.79 in 2020-21 and 0.82 last season.
He already has scored at a 60-plus-goals pace in back-to-back seasons. The 0.79 translates to 64 goals over 82 games. The 0.82 translates to 67.
If he stays on the same trajectory and plays at least close to a full season, he'll score 60 again.
"I'm pretty sure he can do it," said Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who has missed games rarely, won nine goal-scoring titles and scored 780 NHL goals, third behind Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801). "The most important thing is, you have to be healthy."
Much of that is out of Matthews' control. What is in his control is his work ethic.
Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said Matthews works so hard at finding new ways to score, and at putting himself in positions to score, he is "kind of obsessed with it a little bit."
Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Matthews leads the NHL in even-strength goals with 76, 17 more than the next-closest player, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid. He's tied for fourth in power-play goals with 26. He hasn't padded his stats with empty-net goals much, either. He has scored only four in that time.
On its broadcast Thursday, TSN broke down more in-depth numbers, courtesy of Sportlogiq. Among his 60 goals last season, Matthews scored 24 goals off the cycle (first in the NHL), seven off the forecheck (first), 13 off the rush (sixth) and seven off rebounds (fifth). He was the only player to rank in the top 10 in all four categories.
"Yeah, just being able to do it in different ways, because some nights, the shot's not there or whatever," Matthews said. "You're not feeling great. You have to tip a couple pucks maybe in front of the net and score dirty goals.
"Teams also watch film. They pre-scout. Obviously, I'm not a rookie anymore. I've been in the League a little bit, so teams do a lot of video and stuff like that. So I'm just trying to be as unpredictable as possible."
Matthews can be difficult to figure out for opponents. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who picked Matthews to win the Hart again this season, said he's different to defend than McDavid or Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.
"Sometimes you feel like you have him or he's not really going to beat you, and the next thing you know, it's, like, toe drag, shot through your legs, goal," Werenski said. "Or, like, he's in the corner, and then he beats you to the net by a step, and the puck's on his stick, and it's in.
"It's hard to explain playing against Matthews. McDavid and MacKinnon beat you with speed, I feel. With Matthews, he's just incredible. Pucks just go in, and he knows how to score. In tight, you feel like he's not going to shoot it, and the next thing you know, it's back bar. You're like, "Where'd that come from?'"
Matthews can be difficult to figure out for his own teammates. Rielly said it often goes unnoticed how often Matthews comes up with the puck by using his stick or his feet.
"In practice, you think you have possession, and it's gone," Rielly said. "He's just kind of relentless in that sense, and that allows him to get himself in scoring positions. He wins a lot of races coming out of corners. He gets to the net first. He just constantly wins those battles, and he uses other skill sets in order to do that.
"Oftentimes I've noticed it because of just being around him so much, but it's almost like he purposely puts the puck in his feet just to kick it out and to beat you. You think he's mishandling it, but he's not. He's doing it on purpose. Just stuff like that's insane."
Kane said what he enjoys about watching Matthews is the competitiveness and passion he displays each night.
"Seems like every time you watch, he wants to be the best player on the ice, and he gets excited when he scores too," Kane said. "He's scoring a lot of goals, so it's fun to see guys who score that much get excited when they still do it that much.
"Someone like Ovechkin comes to mind too. He still celebrates pretty hard. Those guys to love to score, and that's why they score so much."
NHL.com staff writers Tracey Myers and Tom Gulitti contributed to this story