Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews’ historic season: By the numbers

TORONTO – Auston Matthews firmly placed himself into franchise history books on Thursday night, as the Toronto Maple Leafs centre achieved just the fifth 100-point season in franchise history.

Here is a look at how Matthews got to that vaunted threshold, and the company he has joined by doing so, by the numbers.

THREE

The number of people who have now put up a 100-point season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Franchise legends Darryl Sittler and Doug Gilmour each accomplished the feat twice, with Sittler scoring 100 points in 1975-76, and 117 points in 1977-78, and Gilmour reaching 127 points in 1992-93 and 111 points in 1993-94.

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57.4

The percentage of Matthews’ points this season that are goals. For context, Sittler’s two 100-point seasons featured 41 per cent and 38.5 per cent goals, while Gilmour’s two came in at 25.2 per cent and 24.3 per cent.

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35

The number of 100-point seasons, not including this season’s accomplishments by Matthews and Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, that have featured the player reaching 100 points while recording more goals than assists. In total there have been 276 100-point seasons in NHL history, leaving these 35 seasons at just 12.7 per cent of the total.

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17.7

Matthews’ shooting percentage in 2021-22, an uptick over his career number of 16.5 per cent. Sittler’s 100-point seasons featured a shooting percentage of 11.8 per cent and 14.5 per cent, while Gilmour’s came in at 15.2 per cent and 16.2 per cent.

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80

Matthews’ previous career-high for points in a season. The 24-year-old reached that number in 70 games in the 2019-20 season, also the first year in which he scored more than 40 goals. He is up to 101 points in just 69 games played in 2021-22.

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TWO

The number of points Matthews had through the first month of the season, after nine games for the Leafs and six games for Matthews.

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1.57

Matthews’ points per game since Nov. 1. In his franchise record 127-point season, Gilmour put up 1.53 points per game. Continuing at this pace for the rest of the season would put Matthews at 113 points, which would place him third on the Leafs’ all-time list.

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19

The most points that Matthews had in any given month in 2021-22. The former first-overall pick reached 19 points in both February and March, playing in 12 games in each of the two months.

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77

The number of points that Matthews has scored in the 44 Leafs wins that he has played in so far in 2021-22. The Arizona native has managed just 24 points in 25 Toronto losses.

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FOUR

The highest point total Matthews has had in any game this season. He accomplished the feat three times: Jan. 31 against the New Jersey Devils (3G, 1A), Feb. 26 against the Detroit Red Wings (1G, 3A), and April 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning (3G, 1A).

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FOUR

Hat tricks for Matthews this season, which ties him with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak and Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin for the record among active players for most hat tricks in a single season.

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14

Multi-goal games this season for Matthews. That total puts the Toronto centre one shy of the single-season record among active players, currently held by Draisaitl and Ovechkin, as well as Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby. With eight games still to play for the Maple Leafs in 2022, Matthews has a chance to tie with the other three, if not outright snatch the record for himself.

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EIGHT

The most points Matthews scored against any given opponent this season. He has eight points in three games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, including three-point efforts on Dec. 7 and Feb. 22.

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27.7

The percentage of Matthews’ points this season that have come on the power play. That is a slight uptick over his career number coming into 2021-22, which was at 26.2 per cent.

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1.53

Matthews’ points per game against the 15 other teams currently in playoff positions. Standout numbers from that group include seven points in three games against likely first-round opponents the Tampa Bay Lightning, and five goals in two games against the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2022.

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