Matthews hit the illustrious 54-goal mark Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Auston Matthews joined Rick Vaive by tieing the Toronto Maple Leafs' record for most goals in a season. The good news for Matthews is that there are more games to be played and he'll likely set a new record very soon.

With 54 goals this season, Matthews ranks first in the NHL in goals, with Leon Draisaitl following closely behind at 50. Matthews has helped lead Toronto on their current five-game winning streak and is second in the Atlantic Division. 

He tied the record when playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night by putting up a hat-trick, winning the game 6-2. Vaive's record has been in place for over 40 years, which was set during the 1981-1982 season. 

In a post-game conference, Matthews stated: "It's humbling, it means a lot." In Maple Leafs history, only three players had scored over 50 goals before Matthews, Vaive, Gary Leeman, and Dave Andreychuk. 

Matthews recorded the fastest 50-goal season since the 1995-1996 season. Matthews scored at least one goal in 31 of 45 games leading up to the 50-goal mark. 

Matthews has also moved into the top-ten list for all-time goals, passing Bob Pulford and sitting at ninth place with 253 career goals. Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell had this to say about Matthews, "It's fun to watch him. To see him get the results on the ice like he's been doing, it's just incredible. It's just crazy. It's amazing."

During the 2020-2021 season, Matthews won the Rocket Richard Trophy, an award honoring the NHL's leading goal-scorer. As we mentioned above, Matthews and Draisaitl are battling for the top spot for goal-scorers. 

Matthews noted how important the win over the Lightning was for the Maple Leafs, "This is a big game for us, obviously," Matthews, stated. "They're a really good team, they know how to win, so it was an important game for us at this point of the season. All these points count and really matter. I think it's just a really complete game by everybody"

The Maple Leafs will face the Florida Panthers on April 5, 2022, the Panthers lead the Atlantic Division.