Matthews could win the Hart Trophy thanks to his goal pace for the Maple Leafs.
Two years ago, and with the remarkable goal-scoring pace he continues to exhibit, the star center for the Maple , Matthews, appears poised to repeat his feat. As of the recent road game against the Vegas Golden Knights, he was on track to finish the seLeafsason with 76 goals. This would match the totals achieved by Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne in the 1992-93 season, marking the most recent instance of an NHL player reaching the 70-goal milestone.
Having scored 51 goals in 54 games, Matthews is leaving little room for debate about his candidacy for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s most valuable player to his team. Impressively, he contributed to 25.6% of the Leafs’ 199 goals leading up to the game against the Golden Knights, and with a total of 75 points, he had a hand in 37.7% of Toronto’s goals.
Breaking down Matthews’ 51 goals, 26 were scored at five-on-five, making him the leader in this category in the NHL. Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche followed, but Matthews’ dominance in this aspect is evident.
While acknowledging the outstanding performances of players like MacKinnon, Connor McDavid of the Oilers, and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, all of whom have influenced a greater percentage of their team’s goals than Matthews, the possibility of him winning the Hart Trophy with 70 or more goals is a strong consideration. Matthews, not lagging behind in the overall NHL scoring race, secured the fifth position through games on Wednesday.
Several noteworthy factors accompany Matthews’ goal-scoring achievements, such as none of his goals being scored on an opposition’s empty net with the goalie pulled. As of the recent game, no other NHL player had reached 40 goals, and Matthews also stood out in power-play goals, securing the second spot with 15.
