Matthews records 100th point of season as Maple Leafs score 7 in rout of Capitals
William Nylander, Michael Bunting and Ilya Mikheyev each scored twice, and Auston Matthews notched his 100th and 101st points with two assists in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 7-3 throttling of the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Toronto captain John Tavares also chipped in four secondary assists before 18,466 at Scotiabank Arena. The win pushed the Maple Leafs (48-20-6) to a victory shy of the club record of 49, set in 2017-18.
Matthews became the third player in Maple Leafs' history to score 100 or more points in a season.
Toronto goalie Jack Campbell earned his 28th win as the home team outshot the visitors 32-25. The Capitals (41-23-10) saw their four-game win streak go by the wayside.
The Maple Leafs were buzzing early. The Capitals required 9:37 before Lars Eller mustered the first shot on goal off a turnover from Toronto forward Alex Kerfoot.
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By then, Toronto already enjoyed a 1-0 advantage on a goal from rookie Michael Bunting, set up from Mitch Marner and Matthews. For his 100th point, Matthews made a nifty play along the boards to deflect the puck to Marner.
Marner chased down the puck as a keepsake for Matthews. Bunting was performing in his 100th career game, and Marner hit the 60-assist mark for the second time in his career.
After Nylander missed an open net, he made up for the mistake by blasting in a 36-foot slapper after taking a pinpoint pass from Pierre Engvall for a 2-0 lead later in the opening period.
The offence picked up midway through the second period with a four-on-four situation because Engvall and Capitals defenceman Matt Irwin were off for roughing.
WATCH | Matthews records 100th point of season:
Washington defenceman John Carlson made a