Auston Matthews‘ goal-scoring tear saw him break a new record on Tuesday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs star scored his 66th goal of the season against the New Jersey Devils, surpassing Alexander Ovechkin for the most single-season goals in the salary cap era which began in 2005-06.
It’s the most goals scored in any NHL season since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96 — the year before Matthews was born.
Ovechkin and Matthews are the only active NHLers to have hit 65 goals, with Connor McDavid coming close with 64 goals last season.
Matthews’ 66th goal also marked his 104th point of the season, just two behind the career-high he set over the 2021-22 season.
If the 26-year-old reaches 70 goals on the season, he will become just the eighth player in NHL history to do so. Following Tuesday night, the Maple Leafs have just four games remaining.