In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ takeaways, I’ll comment on Matthews’ game. I’ll also note Jack Campbell’s body of work on the night. He threw a shutout against the Red Wings and it looks as if he’s regained his form. Finally, I’ll take a look at William Nylander, who had a strong game as well.
Make no mistake about it, this game was about Auston Matthews. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ goal-scoring leader Matthews scored his NHL-leading 59th and 60th goals of the season. He also led his team to home-ice advantage for the first round of the postseason playoffs. By the way, the Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 last night in the second-to-last game of the season.
Related: Maple Leafs Quick Hits: Season’s Goals, Team Depth & Kallgren Success
Takeaway One: It’s Worth Saying Again: Matthews Scored Two Goals to Wrap Up the Rocket Richard Trophy
Hitting 60 goals on the season turned out to be more difficult than it seemed two weeks ago. Matthews was stuck on 58 goals; and, it took him a large number of games to find the elusive two more goals he needed to reach 60.
However, finally, the 24-year-old superstar center snapped his five-game goal-scoring drought to become the first NHL player since Steven Stamkos did it in 2011-12 to score 60 goals in a season.
Matthews scored twice in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Detroit to reach 60 goals on the season. There’s a really good chance that he’s seen his last regular-season game this year. Now, it’s on to bigger and better things – at least hopefully.
Matthews also had his career-best 106 points in 72 games this season.
Takeaway Two: Jack Campbell Has Found His Form
Jack Campbell made 20 stops in last night’s 3-0 win over the Red Wings. Really, the focus was not on him; but, he kept it simple and successful so the focus didn’t change. It was not the busiest game he’s had in the net, but he stopped everything that came his way and allowed his team to get untracked to win.
It might seem as if Campbell hasn’t had a great season; however, when you look at his numbers, it seems pretty good. In addition to last night’s shutout, he also posted four other shutouts in 49 games on the season.
As well, it was the third game in his last four where the 30-year-old former backup goalie has limited his opponents to two or fewer goals. His record on the season is 31-9-6, with a save percentage of 0.914 and a goals-against-average of 2.64.
Takeaway Three: William Nylander Could Get 80 Points this Season
If William Nylander gets two points in his last game of the season, he’d hit 80 points this season. Last night, he registered two assists in his team’s win. Both these assists came in the third period – one on John Tavares’ goal and the other on Matthews’ final goal of the season on the power play.
Nylander’s had a great season. He now has registered a career-best 78 points with 32 goals and 46 assists.
Related: Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ 4-3 Shootout Win Over the Capitals
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