Third Rocket Richard cements Auston Matthews as NHL’s top goal scorer

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No National Hockey League player had the best scoring night in league history on Thursday as the 2023-24 regular season ended, so yes, Auston Matthews’ 69 goals were enough for the Maple Leafs superstar to win the Rocket Richard Trophy. 

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We kid. It was never in doubt for Matthews, certainly not for most of the season, during his charge to his third Rocket Richard in the past four years. 

Matthews had 12 more goals than Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers, who was second in the NHL with a career-high 57. Next was Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers with 54, then Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche with 51.

That was it for 50-goal scorers in the NHL this season, making Matthews’ prowess and bumping up against 70 that much more remarkable.

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With two 60-goal campaigns in the past three season, there’s no question that Matthews has taken over as the preeminent goal scorer on the planet.

Alex Ovechkin needs 42 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky, who scored 894 goals, for the most in NHL history. Now 38, Ovechkin’s scoring pace has slowed in recent seasons and he finished this one with 31 goals. 

Ovechkin has won the Rocket Richard nine times, most recently in 2019-20 when he shared the award with Boston’s David Pastrnak as both scored 48 goals in the season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Matthews’ prolific season — he also had a career-high 107 points, one more than in 2021-22, when he won the Hart Trophy — has put him deep in the conversation for the Hart this year.

The competition for the Hart, though, couldn’t be more fierce. Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (144 points) and the Oilers’ Connor McDavid (132 points) each recorded 100 assists and MacKinnon had 140 points. 

Now, it’s on Matthews to lead the Leafs in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins. In 50 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Matthews has 22 goals and 22 assists.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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