Auston Matthews scores his 69th goal, but Maple Leafs lose in OT

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Sixty-nine goals down.

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And one to go for Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews. 

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The best goal scorer in the National Hockey League today is within one of recording the 15th 70-goal season in league history. 

On Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings in the Leafs’ final home game of the 2023-24 regular season, Matthews scored his 69th goal when he was set up by Mitch Marner during a Toronto power play. 

Sitting at the faceoff dot to the right of goalie James Reimer, Matthews extended his point streak to 14 games and scored for the eighth game in a row when he snapped a Marner feed into the net at 10:23 of the second period.

The goal came as Red Wings forward Patrick Kane was serving a double-minor for high-sticking Simon Benoit.

The Leafs lost 5-4 in overtime at Scotiabank Arena when Dylan Larkin scored at 41 seconds, beating goalie Ilya Samsonov on a pass from Kane.

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It was scored with Max Domi serving a tripping minor.

Matthews has at least one game to reach 70 goals. And two games if coach Sheldon Keefe does not rest him in either of the club’s final two matches, in Florida and Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. 

The Matthews goal was the second in a three-goal rally that put the teams in a 4-4 tie after 40 minutes. 

Nick Robertson fooled Reimer, playing in his 500th NHL game, with a shot at 9:04, and John Tavares, also on a pass from Marner, scored the tying goal at 17:22. 

Not long after Matthews scored, Marner sent him in alone, but Reimer squeezed his pads to make a save when Matthews tried to go five-hole.

Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne were the most recent players to score 70 goals, as each scored 76 in 1992-93. The closest any player has come to 70 since then was Mario Lemieux, who scored 69 goals in 1995-96.

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The historical implications of what Matthews is doing is not lost on anyone, least of all Kane.

“I feel like 60 was a big number when (Steven) Stamkos (in 2011-12) and (Alex) Ovechkin in (2007-08) hit it,” Kane said. “Seventy kind of seemed out of reach with anyone. 

“Even this year, I know there was some talk of it, but it didn’t seem like it was a realistic number and all of a sudden, (Matthews) is right there. I know he has had five or six hat tricks this year, so that adds up, but his production has been off the charts. It’s incredible.”

What does Kane, no offensive slouch himself, see in Matthews’ ability to produce?

“There is a lot of talk about his shot and his release, but a lot of his goals are scored right around the net, right in the crease,” Kane said. “He scores pretty goals, dirty goals, one-timers, wrist shots, snapshots off his release with changing the angle. He can score any which way.”

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INJURIES HIT

A primary goal of any team heading into the playoffs — after it has clinched a berth — is to get to the post-season without any further injuries.

The Leafs didn’t make it out unscathed in that manner.

Forward Bobby McMann suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and didn’t return.

In the second, defenceman Jake McCabe took a Dylan Larkin shot off the face and was in obvious pain as he hunched over and made his way to the dressing room. A trail of blood droplets followed McCabe as he departed the ice, and he did not return either.

Defenceman Timothy Liljegren, in his first game after he missed eight with an upper-body injury, left the game for a few shifts in the first period after he was crushed into the end boards by the Wings’ Joe Veleno. A major could have been called, but Veleno got off with just a boarding minor. 

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Domi was in the Toronto lineup after missing practice on Friday with an undisclosed injury.

Once McMann went out, Keefe used a line of Tavares between Marner and Nylander, as he did against New Jersey on Thursday.

FIRST IS WORST

In the first 20 minutes, the Leafs played like a team that knew it had a playoff spot sewn up and couldn’t be bothered to compete.

Detroit had a 4-1 lead at the first intermission, scoring one power-play goal and three at even strength. 

It marked just the second time this season that the Leafs allowed four goals in the first period. It also happened on Nov. 6 against the Lightning, and the Leafs rallied that night to win 6-5 in overtime.

The Leafs didn’t do much to help Samsonov, though the goalie was not great either. The ugliest goal was scored by David Perron, who beat Samsonov on the short side in the final minute. It was a tough period for Samsonov, who struggled versus the Devils 48 hours earlier, allowing six goals on 20 shots.

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The Leafs have to hope these are just blips on Samsonov’s part. He has to be better once the playoffs begin.

A point-blank save by Samsonov on Lucas Raymond midway through the third period was his biggest stop of the night.

Morgan Rielly got caught pinching on another Detroit goal, and William Nylander was soft along the boards, leading to another Wings goal.  

Will the Leafs’ poor play in the first period matter when the playoffs start? No. But was there any excuse for it? Also, no. As it was, the Leafs rebounded nicely in the second period.

Marner scored the Leafs goal in the first period, giving the home side a 1-0 lead on a power play at 8:35.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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