Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews scores 400th career goal

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored his 400th career goal on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres during the team’s 4-0 shutout win.

With the score 2-0, Matthews iced the game with an empty-netter to register his 32nd of the season and 400th career tally.

Here’s a look:

The play started with a brilliant save from Anthony Stolarz. When the play came back the other way, Matthews picked up a loose puck and deposited it in the wide-open cage for his 400th career marker.

Auston Matthews is now 20 goals behind Mats Sundin for the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise record. Sundin scored 420 goals in 981 games. Thus far, the Leafs captain has scored 400 in 628 games.

Leafs fans will have to wait till next season to see Matthews break another club record. In the meantime, Matthews’ achievement marked the second milestone of the night as teammate Mitch Marner joined him in the Leafs’ 100-point club.

With the win, the Leafs officially clinched the Atlantic Division title and home-ice advantage during the first two rounds.

Matthews likely to sit for regular-season finale against Detroit Red Wings

The Toronto Maple Leafs will play their regular-season finale against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. The game is largely inconsequential as the Leafs have locked up the Atlantic Division and will have confirmed their first-round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.

As such, coach Craig Berube may be inclined to sit Auston Matthews, along with Mitch Marner and William Nylander, in order to rest them ahead of the 2025 NHL playoffs. With Matthews getting his 400th goal and Mitch Marner registering his 100th point, there’s no need to insert either player into the lineup. While both Matthews and Marner are competitors, there’s no sense in risking an injury
in the final game of the regular season.

Additionally, Matthews has been dealing with nagging injuries all season long. So, it would make sense to rest the Leafs captain. As for Marner, he won’t face the same situation he did in 2023 when former coach Sheldon Keefe sat Marner on the last game of the regular season with 99 points to
his credit.

This time around, the Toronto Maple Leafs are riding high as the season winds down. They have checked all the regular-season boxes. So now, their attention turns to the 2025 NHL playoffs.

In the coming days, fans will get a clearer picture of what to expect from this edition’s Battle of Ontario. It’s been more than two decades since the Leafs and Senators met in the playoffs. So, there will be plenty of storylines to look forward to this postseason.

Stay tuned for further updates