{"id":3119,"date":"2024-04-18T17:22:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T17:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oldprof.nhltradetalk.com\/?p=3119"},"modified":"2024-04-18T17:22:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T17:22:59","slug":"maple-leafs-matthews-comes-short-70-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldprof.nhltradetalk.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/18\/maple-leafs-matthews-comes-short-70-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs Matthews Comes Up Short of 70-Goal Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last night, the\u00a0Tampa Bay Lightning\u00a0beat the\u00a0Toronto Maple Leafs\u00a06-4. The bottom line for fans of the Blue and White is that, in this meaningless game, Auston Matthews failed to reach the 70-goal milestone. The end of the regular season was also the end of a quest that captured the emotions and interest of NHL fans everywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, that made his playing in the meaningless last game of the season even more frustrating for Maple Leafs fans. Fortunately, Matthews wasn’t injured. Other than that, it was a waste of his energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Hockey Analyst Compares Nick Robertson to Doug Gilmour<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Lightning Goalie Matt Tomkins Stood Tall for His Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, at the same time that Matthews failed in his bid to become the ninth player in NHL history to score 70 goals in a season, Tampa Bay\u2019s Nikita Kucherov became the fifth player to have a 100-assist season. As Matthews and head coach Sheldon Keefe noted after the game<\/a>, “it wasn’t to be.”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If Maple Leafs fans need someone to blame for Matthews’ lack of success, they only need to point to 29-year-old rookie goalie Matt Tomkins. Tomkins denied all seven of Matthews’ first-period shots. He then witnessed another shot off the post midway through the second period. In his sixth NHL start, Tomkins finished with 34 saves, including 12 on Matthews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthews Admits to Wanting Goal 70 Badly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Matthews noted, \u201cI wanted it, for sure, but it just wasn\u2019t meant to be.” He added, “The most important thing is the team and the team\u2019s success, making sure I\u2019m pulling my weight as a leader on this team and helping the team win. That\u2019s where my focus is at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe defended his star. He noted that there was more to Matthews\u2019 game than putting the puck in the net. Keefe added, \u201cHe\u2019s played so tremendously well. I know there\u2019s been a lot of focus on him reaching 70 goals; you kind of lose sight of how well he\u2019s played.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keefe also noted the bad luck involved in Matthews’ lack of success. He noted, “The way he\u2019s played these last two games\u2014give him those types of chances and shots, and he could have had 75. It wasn\u2019t meant to be, and that\u2019s OK\u201469 is an unbelievable season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Expect Maple Leafs to Out-Tough the Bruins in These Playoffs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Maple Leafs regular season is over. Auston Matthews did not score his 70th goal. What happened?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[35,14],"class_list":["post-3119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-auston-matthews","tag-sheldon-keefe"],"yoast_head":"\nMaple Leafs Matthews Comes Up Short of 70-Goal Season<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Toronto Maple Leafs regular season is over. Auston Matthews did not score his 70th goal. 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