All eyes on Leafs’ Auston Matthews as he goes for 70 in Florida

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews will make history if he scores his 70th goal of the season tonight against the Florida Panthers.

The 26-year-old star would join an elite company, becoming the ninth player to reach the 70-goal club. The other players to do it include Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Phil Esposito, Jari Kurri, Mario Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls, Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne.

Mogilny and Selanne were the last players to do it during the 1992-93 season. Mogilny finished with 76 goals in 77 games with the Buffalo Sabres, while Selanne also scored 76 goals in 84 games as a rookie with the Winnipeg Jets.

Gretzky scored over 70 goals on four different occasions, including a 92-goal season with the Edmonton Oilers in 1981-82. Hull also scored over 70 goals three times, including a career-high 86 goals with the St. Louis Blues in 1990-91.

Matthews would become the first player in Maple Leafs history to score 70 goals. He passed Rick Vaive (previously 54) for the most goals scored in a season by a Maple Leaf in 2021-22, finishing with 60 goals in 73 games.

Oilers star Connor McDavid reached his own personal milestone on Monday night by joining the 100-assist club. The Oilers captain is just the fourth player in NHL history to hit the 100-assist milestone behind Gretzky (11 times), Lemieux and Bobby Orr, and the first since 1990-1991.

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The Panthers would need to beat the Maple Leafs and have the Boston Bruins lose to the Ottawa Senators to clinch first place in the Atlantic Division. Should that happen, the Leafs would face the Bruins in the first round of the NHL playoffs.