Auston Matthews is on a 58-goal pace for the Maple Leafs, and the 50-goal talk in Toronto is officially back.
He scored again Saturday in Edmonton, wiring home a slick Easton Cowan feed that went right through Ryan Shea's legs.
That made it nine goals in 13 games for the Toronto captain. Sportsnet ran the math, and that's where the 58 comes from.
Is 50 realistic? Yes, and calling it an overreaction misses what's happening on the ice.
The last two seasons left plenty of Leafs fans wondering whether the elite finisher was gone for good. This version looks re-energized.
The eye test backs it up. He's moving better and leaning on defenders down low, stripping pucks and creating chaos in the offensive zone.
It isn't just the goals, either. He has 19 points, two of them game-winners.
Easton Cowan and Gavin McKenna give Matthews new weapons
The supporting cast looks deeper. Cowan, 21, already has 12 points.
Gavin McKenna is only 18 and has eight of his own.
Kirill Marchenko has four power-play goals, and William Nylander sits at 18 points. Defenses can't key on one line anymore.
His offensive-zone starts are way up and his shorthanded ice time is down, according to Sportsnet. Jim Hiller is putting his best scorer exactly where he can do damage.
Watching Matthews right now is like hearing your favorite band after the drummer finally got his timing back. Same songs, but everything lands.
Fifty should be the floor if he stays healthy. Anything less would be a letdown on a $13,250,000 cap hit with this much help around him.
The Leafs have won four straight and head to Calgary on Monday, then Seattle on Wednesday. Keep scoring like this, and the 50 chatter becomes a 60 conversation.
Will Auston Matthews score 50 goals this season?
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