Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are (almost) the Leafs’ duo of the century

The final 10 games of the regular season are all about fine-tuning for the Maple Leafs.

With a playoff berth already in hand, most of the important details have to do with the defence, but there are also some major offensive milestones within reach.

For one, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are poised to become the first Leafs duo ever to reach 100 points in the same season.

“It’d be cool, but we’ll see,” Marner said, emphasizing the importance of team goals over personal achievements as most players do. “If (100 points) happens then that’s a pretty cool milestone, but you take it day by day.”

Marner has already established career highs with 31 goals and 90 points, and is on pace for 100 with 10 games to go. Matthews, meanwhile, is just a point shy heading into Tuesday night’s date with the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena.

His run of 51 goals in 50 games to shatter the franchise record for a single season — now at 58 — has been the talk of the league. On Monday, he was named the NHL’s first star of the week after piling up seven goals and four assists in four games.

Darryl Sittler (117 in 1977-78, 100 in 1975-76) and Doug Gilmour (team-record 127 in 1992-93, 111 the following season) are the only Leafs who have cracked the 100-point plateau. For Marner — who has been having an impact at both ends of the ice with a more physical style — the pursuit has included a franchise-best stretch of seven consecutive multi-point games.

“I’m trying to be a little more competitive on pucks,” said Marner, listed at 6-feet and 172 pounds. “That’s something our line (with Matthews and Michael Bunting) has been good at. Just forechecking and being physical on the puck has helped us get the puck back. So all three of us use our body a bit more — trying to get in there, trying to get the puck out of sticky situations — and go from there …

“Obviously I’m not the biggest looking guy, but I’m not trying to blow anybody up. Just trying to … separate the puck from the opposition, and that’s been working.”

With Marner and Matthews on torrid scoring paces, the Leafs clinched a playoff berth early by beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday night. That got them to the 100-point mark in the standings, just five shy of the franchise record set in 2017-18.

At 47 wins, they’re two away from tying the team record. They’re also just three shy of the franchise mark for home victories (29) and two away from matching their record for road wins (25). Riding a 7-0-1 streak heading into Tuesday night’s game, they’re on pace for 54 wins and 114 points.

While linemate Bunting is goalless in 16 games, Marner said he has contributed in other ways by setting a physical tone.

“I don’t know if this is a swear word or not, but he’s taking an ass-beating in front of the net,” said Marner. “Really, he’s getting destroyed in front. He loves doing it and he’s getting rewarded for it, too; our line’s getting rewarded for it … He’s a big reason our line is having the success it’s having.”

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