All Eyes on Auston Matthews As Toronto Maple Leafs Travel to Arizona
Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is one goal away from his 50th goal of the 2023-24 season.
On Wednesday, Auston Matthews could score goal number 50 against the team he grew up watching, the Arizona Coyotes. What a homecoming that would be for the NHL's leading goal scorer. I'm sure he will have plenty of friends and family in attendance to witness it if it happens.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are on a four-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's game against the Coyotes. During this current win streak, Matthews has seven goals and three assists. Six of his seven goals came from back-to-back hat tricks on February 15th (Philadelphia Flyers) and February 17th (Anaheim Ducks).
Matthews now has six hat-tricks this season, which makes him the first player to do so since Mario Lemieux did it in the 1995-96 season. (All stats from hockey-reference.com)
All Eyes on Auston Matthews As Toronto Maple Leafs Travel to Arizona
Matthews did not record a single point against the Coyotes last season, with the Leafs losing both games. He and the team will be hoping for a different outcome Wednesday night. A lot of things are going right for the Leafs right now.
They are getting plenty of offense, the power play is clicking, the defense has been the best that it's been all season, and goaltending has improved in the second half of the season. Hopefully, the momentum they are riding right now carries them to a victory against the Coyotes.
At this point, it is almost impossible to picture Matthews not scoring and the Leafs losing on Wednesday. The Leafs will likely have Ilya Samsonov in the net, and he has been good, all things considered. He is 4-0-0 in his last four starts with a 2.49 GAA and .900 SV%.
Everything is going the Leafs way right now, and after a very up-and-down first half of the season, they need this winning streak.
While many people will have their eyes glued to Matthews every shift, he will not be the only player with family and friends in the crowd. Leafs rookie Matthew Knies is from Arizona, and when asked about playing there, he stated that he'll have between 50-60 seats worth of family and friends coming to watch him play. I'm sure it will be an incredible experience for the Leafs rookie.
Knies has ten goals and 13 assists for 23 points in his rookie season. He is projected to finish the season with 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points in 80 games.
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We will find out on Wednesday if both Knies and Matthews perform well in front of their hometown crowd and help the Leafs win their 5th game in a row.