Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
The Maple Leafs sniper was held in check for the second straight night Wednesday in Toronto's 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, finishing the schedule with 69 goals in 81 games.
Matthews was also unable to find the back of the net in Tuesday's 5-2 defeat to the Florida Panthers after scoring 10 times in his previous eight contests.
The 26-year-old centre was looking to become just the ninth player in league history to reach the 70-goal plateau alongside Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, Teemu Selanne, Alexander Mogilny, Jari Kurri and Bernie Nicholls.
Selanne and Mogilny are the last two players to register 70 goals when both hit 76 in 1992-93.
Another significant milestone was eclipsed Wednesday when Lightning star Nikita Kucherov became just the fifth player to pick up 100 assists in a campaign after setting up Brayden Point on a second-period power play. He joins Gretzky, Lemieux, Bobby Orr and Connor McDavid, who registered his 100th assist on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Post strike: Union 'extremely disappointed' in latest offer, negotiator says
A negotiator for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) says the latest offer from Canada Post to end the ongoing strike shows the carrier is moving in the "opposite direction."
Search for UnitedHealthcare CEO's killer yields evidence, but few answers
As the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer goes on, investigators are reckoning with a tantalizing dichotomy: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma.
Digging themselves out: With Santa Claus parade cancelled, Londoners make best of snowy situation
Londoners continue to dig themselves out from this week’s massive snowstorm.
Trump is welcomed by Macron to Paris with presidential pomp and joined by Zelenskyy for their talks
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Donald Trump to Paris with a full dose of presidential pomp for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Groups launch legal challenge against Alberta's new gender-affirming treatment law
A pair of LGBTQ2S+ advocate organizations say they've followed through with their plan to challenge Alberta's three transgender bills in court, starting with one that bars doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under 16.
Insurgents reach gates of Syria's capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule
Insurgents march across Syria accelerated, with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and that government forces had withdrawn from Homs.
Canada's air force took video of object shot down over Yukon, updated image released
The Canadian military has released more details and an updated image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023.
U.S. announces nearly US$1 billion more in longer-term weapons support for Ukraine
The United States will provide nearly US$1 billion more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday.
New plan made to refloat cargo ship stuck in St. Lawrence River for two weeks
Officials say they have come up with a new plan to refloat a large cargo ship that ran aground in the St. Lawrence River two weeks ago after previous efforts to move the vessel were unsuccessful.