4. Auston Matthews vs Ottawa (October 12th 2016)
This game was arguably one of the most exciting of the decade, which is funny because they ended up losing.
But four goals from Matthews in his NHL debut? Come on.
I picked this goal in particular out of his four because of the entire sequence leading up to it.
Here you have a guy who’s never played an NHL game before, and what does he do? Dekes around Mark Stone. Dekes around Mike Hoffman. Strips Erik Karlsson of the puck. And finally beats Craig Anderson for his second of FOUR GOALS in this game.
In case you don’t know, those are some pretty good hockey players.
This game was special for Leaf fans because they went nine years without having a true number one centre. They finally get him, and what does he do? Steps in and pots four in his first game. It will never get old.
3. Mitch Marner vs Florida (November 17th 2016)
Auston Matthews has been receiving a lot of attention through this list, so why don’t we shed some light on the other star in Mitch Marner.
This goal was awesome because of Marner’s determination to pull it off while Mike Matheson (who’s three inches taller and about 20 pounds heavier) relentlessly tries to push him off the puck.
Nonetheless, Marner stays with it and goes backhand-forehand to beat former Leaf James Reimer on the breakaway.
Marner may not be the biggest guy on the ice, but his tireless determination and puck control is what makes this goal so special.