Auston Matthews put himself in some distinguished company with his 30th goal of the season on Wednesday
Matthews’ first-period snipe from the slot, first and foremost, gave the American two 30-goal campaigns in succession. As a rookie, Matthews dropped 40 last year playing in all 82 games for the Maple Leafs.
This year hasn’t been so kind in the injury department. A few injuries have limited Matthews to 57 games -- including a recent return on March 22 from a month layoff due to a shoulder injury -- but he’s managed well in spite, with 54 points now in 57 games.
And the third player in the @MapleLeafs lineup to reach 30 goals is.... @AM34! https://t.co/fbX3kWzXzF
— NHL (@NHL) March 29, 2018
Matthews put himself in the same conversation as Maple Leafs legends Wendel Clark and Daniel Marois with his consecutive 30-goal campaigns.
Auston Matthews became just the third player in @MapleLeafs franchise history to begin his NHL career (all w/TOR) with consecutive 30-goal seasons. #NHLStats #FLAvsTOR pic.twitter.com/fHBGaLXPMQ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 29, 2018
And on top of that, Matthews became just the fifth American-born players to accomplish the feat, joining some pretty stellar company there as well.
Only four other U.S.-born players in NHL history have also accomplished the feat:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 29, 2018
Bobby Carpenter (1981-82 and 1982-83)
Mark Pavelich (1981-82 and 1982-83)
Jimmy Carson (1986-87 and 1987-88)
Tony Amonte (1991-92 and 1992-93)#NHLStats pic.twitter.com/u9KStgTnSN
Wednesday’s just another reminder of how valuable Matthews is when he’s in the lineup. Matthews pushed his current point streak to five games with the marker.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck