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When Auston Matthews got within a goal of Darryl Sittler on Jan. 22, no one thought it would take him almost 40 days to pass the Hall of Famer for second place in Toronto franchise history.
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But a prolonged Matthews slump and the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament intervened, with only one empty-net goal in between.
Matthews finally beat a goalie and passed Sittler on Sunday. His second-period snap shot past Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist gave him the elusive 390 after 10 goalless NHL games and three in the 4 Nations.
“Nice to be in the same sentence with a guy like Darryl Sittler,” Matthews said. “He’s a great Leaf who paved the way for some of us.”
Only Mats Sundin now stands between Matthews and the team record, 30 goals away, though that mark is unlikely to fall until early next season for the defending Rocket Richard Trophy winner.
This has been a difficult season at times for Matthews, hampered by an upper-body injury in the autumn. He did have a stretch of nine goals in 10 games just before his tap turned off, but he racked up lots of assists. His helper on William Nylander’s overtime winner was his 700th NHL point, making him the fastest Leaf to that mark in 607 games.
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That bumped his good pal and linemate Mitch Marner, who had reached 700 in 622 games in January. It was still a special game for Marner, whose assist on Matthews’ goal put him past George Armstrong for fifth on the points board with 714.
Nylander’s winner was also career goal No. 252, going ahead of Bob Pulford for sole possession of 10th among Leafs, while tying Matthews for second with 13 extra period goals.
RACE AGAINST TIME
With less than six seconds to go in the middle period and a faceoff in the Toronto zone, the Penguins had to figure they’d get to the dressing room tied 4-4.
They won the draw, but Erik Karlsson’s ill-advised pass across the blue line to Evgeni Malkin was picked off by Matthew Knies, who raced the length of the ice and beat Blomqvist with a 10th of a second showing on the clock.
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“Everyone was yelling at me to shoot it by the (centre ice) red line, so I was kind of nervous,” Knies said. “I didn’t know when to shoot, but fortunately got it in just before.
“When I looked up, I saw the green light behind the net (signalling time had expired) so I was hoping it was good.”
LOOSE LEAFS
Club president and London Knights alumnus Brendan Shanahan was spotted in Oshawa Sunday at the Generals-Knights game with assistant general manager Darryl Metcalf checking out first-round picks Easton Cowan (London) and defenceman Ben Danford (Oshawa). Cowan had the 4-3 overtime hat trick winner and Danford an assist in the 4-3 final. … If you’re in or around Toronto during the March break, a 4 Nations exhibit is being unveiled at the Hockey Hall of Fame, including items from Canada’s overtime win in the final. The collection includes game-worn jerseys and equipment with each country and the newly engraved 4 Nations Cup. The 29-inch trophy, slightly smaller than the Stanley Cup, will be made available as a photo op for guests … When the Leafs beat the Rangers on Friday night, they swept three games against an Original Six opponent on the same road trip for the first time in club history.
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
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