The Toronto Maple Leafs may have won their fourth game in a row last night, and since they were playing Columbus, they probably did. However, I wrote this before the game, so I don't technically know.
Win or loss, the Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in a great position as they grind their way through the second half of the season: in first place, getting great goaltending, Marner in the MVP conversation and Matthews starting to dominate.
It's kind of funny, because the Capitals, Jets and Knights are the top three teams in the NHL righ now, but coming up right behind them are three much better teams: Toronto, Edmonton and Carolina.
The second half should be extremely fun as we watch the Leafs try to win their first ever Atlantic Division title, and perhaps even the President's Trophy. One thing to keep an eye on is the milestones that Marner and Matthews are hitting, have hit, or about to hit.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Incredible Milestones and Connor McDavid
Mitch Marner has just scored his 700th point in Leafs uniform, which puts him 6th all-time. He needs just seven points to pass George Armstrong for 5th *obviously not counting last night.
Marner needs only 281 points to become the Leafs all-time leading scorer. Assuing he is healthy and stays in Toronto, he should do that not next season, but the season after. Insane.
Matthews is only 20 points behind Marner (though they essentially average the same points-per-game) and will be looking to become the Leafs all-time leading goal scorer sooner than later. Right now Matthews has 387 goals, and may even have passed Daryl Sittler and moved into second place if he scored a hattrick last night, which, based on how he's playing lately, he probably did.
Matthews needs only 34 goals to become the Leafs all-time leading goal scorer. Incredibly, he has played 386 games less than Mats Sundin up to this point in his career. The Leafs have 34 games left, and if Matthews goes absolutely bonkers, it's possible he could set the record this year. (stats quanthockey.com).
Is it possible that Matthews could hit 53 goals this year while playing in just 67 games? Yes, considering he averaged more goals per game last year when he scored 69 times.
What Matthews has done in his short career is nothing short of remarkable. He is now about to lead the Leafs to their first Stanley Cup victory in over 55 years.