<p>Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews rewrote the franchise record books with his goal during <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-maple-leafs-chaotic-matinee-affair-penguins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday&#8217;s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins</a>.</p>
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<p>A goal early in the second period was important not just because it tied the game, but it resulted in <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-passes-darryl-sittler-second-maple-leafs-goals-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthews surpassing Darryl Sittler for second place</a> on the Leafs&#8217; all-time goals leader. He later recorded an assist on William Nylander&#8217;s overtime winner, his 700th career point, making him the seventh in team history to reach the milestone and the fastest since <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-react-mitch-marner-fastest-team-history-700-career-points" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitch Marner did the same on January 16</a>.</p>
<p>When reporters asked him after the game what it meant to him to achieve the feat, Matthews felt grateful to be in the same category as one of the all-time greats in Leafs history.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, it&#8217;s nice. Nice to be in the same sentence as a guy like Darryl Sittler,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Obviously a great Leaf, paved the way for some of us now here today. So it&#8217;s a big honour to be in the same sentence.&#8221;</p>
<p>The captain now sits 30 goals behind Mats Sundin to become the Leafs&#8217; all-time goals leader uncontested, and he has a legitimate shot to become the first in team history to score 500+ goals donning the Blue and White. While Matthews&#8217; milestone may have gotten lost in the shuffle a bit, given that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby also rewrote the NHL record books on Sunday, it should not diminish the significance of what the Leafs captain was able to achieve.</p>
<p>His goal also busted a 10-game drought (13 if you include the 4 Nations Face-Off) where Matthews was unable to get the puck past the goalie. He may have been more concerned about the overall team success, but he felt good to find the back of the net again.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, it&#8217;s good. I mean, we&#8217;ve been winning games, so that&#8217;s the most important part,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The chances have been there, still creating elsewhere for other guys too. You just keep pushing, you know the opportunities will continue to be there and just bear down and put one in. So it&#8217;s obviously a good feeling.&#8221;</p>
<p>Above all else, Matthews&#8217; tally was one of six that helped the Leafs get the much-needed two points to keep them in the driver&#8217;s seat of the Atlantic Division. With how well the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have been playing, the Leafs cannot afford to slip up, and they need to keep the pedal to the metal if they hope to clinch their first proper division title since 2000.</p>
<p>If they hope to do that, they will need to continue to count on their captain to lead the charge as he has done all season. Matthews now has 51 points (22 goals and 29 assists) in 45 games played, which is second on the team behind only Nylander and Marner. Given the fact that he has missed a lot of time due to injury, it goes to show how impactful he can be even when not at 100%.</p>
<p>&#8220;Congratulations to him and his teammates. He is a great player and a great scorer. It was good to see him get one tonight,&#8221; head coach Craig Berube said. &#8220;I know he has been snakebitten a bit, so it was nice. He had six shots on net. He is shooting, which is good. Congrats to him. Great accomplishment.</p>
<p>Matthews will look to continue his pursuit up the franchise leaderboards when he and the Leafs take on the San Jose Sharks on Monday, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.</p>
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Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews rewrote the franchise record books with his goal during <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-maple-leafs-chaotic-matinee-affair-penguins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Penguins</a>.
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A goal early in the second period was important not just because it tied the game, but it resulted in <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-passes-darryl-sittler-second-maple-leafs-goals-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthews surpassing Darryl Sittler for second place</a> on the Leafs' all-time goals leader. He later recorded an assist on William Nylander's overtime winner, his 700th career point, making him the seventh in team history to reach the milestone and the fastest since <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-react-mitch-marner-fastest-team-history-700-career-points" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitch Marner did the same on January 16</a>.

When reporters asked him after the game what it meant to him to achieve the feat, Matthews felt grateful to be in the same category as one of the all-time greats in Leafs history.

"Yeah, it's nice. Nice to be in the same sentence as a guy like Darryl Sittler," he said. "Obviously a great Leaf, paved the way for some of us now here today. So it's a big honour to be in the same sentence."

The captain now sits 30 goals behind Mats Sundin to become the Leafs' all-time goals leader uncontested, and he has a legitimate shot to become the first in team history to score 500+ goals donning the Blue and White. While Matthews' milestone may have gotten lost in the shuffle a bit, given that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby also rewrote the NHL record books on Sunday, it should not diminish the significance of what the Leafs captain was able to achieve.

His goal also busted a 10-game drought (13 if you include the 4 Nations Face-Off) where Matthews was unable to get the puck past the goalie. He may have been more concerned about the overall team success, but he felt good to find the back of the net again.

"Yeah, it's good. I mean, we've been winning games, so that's the most important part," he said. "The chances have been there, still creating elsewhere for other guys too. You just keep pushing, you know the opportunities will continue to be there and just bear down and put one in. So it's obviously a good feeling."

Above all else, Matthews' tally was one of six that helped the Leafs get the much-needed two points to keep them in the driver's seat of the Atlantic Division. With how well the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have been playing, the Leafs cannot afford to slip up, and they need to keep the pedal to the metal if they hope to clinch their first proper division title since 2000.

If they hope to do that, they will need to continue to count on their captain to lead the charge as he has done all season. Matthews now has 51 points (22 goals and 29 assists) in 45 games played, which is second on the team behind only Nylander and Marner. Given the fact that he has missed a lot of time due to injury, it goes to show how impactful he can be even when not at 100%.

"Congratulations to him and his teammates. He is a great player and a great scorer. It was good to see him get one tonight," head coach Craig Berube said. "I know he has been snakebitten a bit, so it was nice. He had six shots on net. He is shooting, which is good. Congrats to him. Great accomplishment.

Matthews will look to continue his pursuit up the franchise leaderboards when he and the Leafs take on the San Jose Sharks on Monday, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.

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