TAMPA – Rick Vaive would like to be in the building when Auston Matthews breaks his record.
Well, he might need to scramble and catch a last-minute flight to Florida because at the rate he’s rolling, the torch will not wait until the end of this road trip to get passed.
“Impressive for sure, but I won’t be going on the road,” Vaive texted. “I will see him when they get back.”
Matthews ripped No. 52, tipped No. 53, and scooped No. 54 Monday, powering the streaking Toronto Maple Leafs to a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hats rained down… on the road.
He has now tied Vaive and only needs one more to write history.
The sniper has goals in six straight and a ridiculous 47 goals in his past 47 games.
“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. “That’s how good of a scorer he is.”
Matthews’ own coach, Sheldon Keefe, believes a number so seemingly outrageous is within the realm of possibility.
“I just don’t think you could ever put any sort of limitations on someone like him, with the ability that he has and the drive that he has,” Keefe said.
“It’s pretty rare, obviously, to reach those [numbers], especially in this era. But there’s no limit on what someone like him can do, because he’s extremely driven and very talented and just seems to continue to get better.”
So does the team around him.
In defeating the Lightning on their own ice, the Maple Leafs extended their win streak to five, a run that features convincing performances against each of their three greatest Atlantic Division rivals.
A refreshed Jack Campbell outduelled Andrei Vasilevskiy, Mitch Marner extended his multipoint streak to six games, and the valuable secondary contributions (from Alexander Kerfoot and Pierre Engvall on this night) continue to be provided.
It’s one thing to witness a historic individual performance; it’s another to see it jog in unison with a team finding its best form.
“That’s the biggest thing,” Keefe said. “We’ve been winning lots of games, and he contributes in so many different ways.
“He’s forechecking. He’s tracking. He’s creating turnovers. He’s doing all the different things that lead to goals and giving himself those opportunities to score. He does it in so many different ways that contributes to winning.
“Not just scoring — but winning.”
Fox’s Fast 5
• Since Nov. 24, Pierre Engvall has scored more even-strength goals (10) than John Tavares or William Nylander (nine apiece), SN Stats notes.
• Michael Bunting has drawn 40 penalties this season. Only Pierre-Luc Dubois (46) and Connor McDavid (44) has drawn more whistles.
Last Leaf to draw 40? Nazem Kadri, who accomplished the feat thrice and holds the unofficial franchise record for most penalties drawn with 64 in 2015-16.
• Loved seeing Mark Giordano go right at Corey Perry for taking a whack at Jack Campbell’s glove. We’ve seen others let stuff like that slide.
• William Nylander missed the game due to illness. Jason Spezza served a second consecutive scratch.
And Jake Muzzin is “likely” to make his return Tuesday in Florida. The defenceman hasn’t played since suffering his second concussion of the year on Feb. 21.
• A fun little backstory emerged about Timothy Liljegren’s goal in Philadelphia Saturday. The defenceman revealed that he purposely missed wide on his point shot that clicked in off Carter Hart’s leg after thwacking the end-boards.
“It’s probably the ugliest goal I’ve ever scored, but I’ll take every goal I can get,” Liljegren smiled.
“I tried to find a lane to the net, and someone on the bench just yelled: ‘End wall!’ So that’s what I did. I don’t know who, but they should get an assist for that.”
