NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored twice in the second period against the New York Islanders on Saturday night to pass Mats Sundin and set the franchise record for career goals with 421.
“It means a lot, it’s a very historical franchise,” Matthews said. “There’s a lot of pride. … I am very humbled. I couldn’t do it without the great group of guys around me.”
His first goal tied Sundin at 420 when Matthews entered the offensive zone past Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, shifted the puck from his backhand to his forehand and slid it past goaltender David Rittich at 9:30 of the second period. It tied the score 1-1
Just 7:49 later, Matthews broke the record with his second of the game and 20th of the season to put Toronto ahead, burying a cross-ice feed from Bobby McMann on a one-timer.
Matthew Schaefer scored twice for the Islanders, including in the final minute of overtime to lift the Islanders to a 4-3 win.
“A club that’s had tremendous history — a tradition of players coming before him” John Tavares said of Matthews. “Hopefully that doesn’t get lost in the loss. Amazing moment for him and a hell of a player.”
Matthews had his second consecutive multi-goal game after he had a hat trick on Friday night in the Maple Leafs' 6-5 win against Winnipeg. He now has six goals and 10 points in four games since the NHL's Christmas break. He sat out Toronto's 4-0 win against New Jersey on Tuesday night.
“It’s incredible, congrats to him,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “He’s accomplished a lot of things, he had a strong game again tonight. … He drives the bus, drives the play for us and everybody feeds off of him.”
Matthews, in his second season as Maple Leafs captain after succeeding Tavares, is fourth all time in franchise points with 760, trailing Sundin (987), Darryl Sittler (916) and Dave Keon (858).
Sundin, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, scored 420 goals in 981 games with the Maple Leafs. Matthews, named to Team USA for the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina next month, topped his mark in his 664th game.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/NHL
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Discover India with Us! Read moreIndia Community Travel: Virtual Information Session
Prayer, grounded in divine Love and spiritual law, offers a reliable foundation for healing,… Read moreInspirational Talk on Effective Prayer: Finding healing and wholeness in divine Love
What the Constitution Means to Me Read moreWhat The Constitution Means To Me
Navigating Senior Care, Estate Planning, & Funeral Planning Read morePeace of Mind with a Piece of Cake
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.