The Toronto Maple Leafs kept it simple on social media Saturday night, posting a photo of Auston Matthews celebrating his historic accolade with a blunt caption.
All the Leafs needed to celebrate Matthews' performance was three words or, to put it another way, just two numbers and a single word sandwiched in between them.
"30 for 34," the Leafs posted on X.
Behind the minimalist post, however, was a major piece of NHL history.
Matthews scored his 30th goal of the season in the Leafs' 5–0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena, becoming the first U.S.-born player in NHL history to register 30 or more goals in nine consecutive seasons.
The NHL’s official PR account detailed and confirmed the milestone, which breaks a tie with Pat LaFontaine (eight seasons from 1986 through 1993).
Matthews reached the mark late in the third period on a one-timer off a feed from Mitch Marner.
The goal put the Leafs up 5–0 and added to a dominant night in which Matthews also collected an assist.
Matthews now has 30 goals and 41 assists in 61 games and remains on pace to break Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin's all-time goals record with 398 goals in 623 games compared to Ovechkin's 391 at the same number of games played.
According to TSN's StatsCenter, Matthews also became the first American player in Maple Leafs franchise history with nine straight 30-goal campaigns, surpassing Darryl Sittler’s eight.
Only six other players in NHL history have put together such a long streak to start their careers: Alex Ovechkin, Mike Gartner, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mike Bossy, and Bryan Trottier.
On Saturday, Nicholas Robertson and William Nylander each scored twice while team-favorite netminder Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves for his second shutout of the year.
The Leafs are now 47-25-4 and lead the Atlantic Division with 98 points, four ahead of Tampa Bay and six above Florida. Saturday’s win was their fourth in a row.
Toronto has six games left to secure just their second division title since 2000 after having already clinched a postseason berth on Wednesday.
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