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Wednesday night, Auston Matthews became the fastest player in 28 years to reach 50 goals during a season. His hot streak has seen him light up the scoresheet with nine goals in his last four games where Toronto has gone 4-0 behind a 23-10 goal differential.
Matthews will be back on the ice again Thursday night against the Golden Knights, and now oddsmakers have posted a lofty mark for the marksman to reach.
SportsBetting.ag set Matthews regular season goal total at 75.5. There is also a prop on whether or not he'll hit the 80-goal mark, and the 5/1 odds imply about a 17% chance of doing so.
Asked by Sportsnet following the first period what this achievement might mean to young hockey players in Arizona, Matthews said: “I hope it’s something that they can take and maybe be inspired by, encouraged by. Like I said this morning, it doesn’t matter where you’re from if you dream hard enough, work hard enough, you can make those dreams come true. For myself, I just feel very grateful to be in the position I’m in, and whatever I can do to keep that going, I want to do it.”
Shattering records is nothing new to Matthews. During the 2016-17 season, he became the first player in modern NHL history to score four goals in his NHL debut.
He scored 40 goals that year, setting the Maple Leafs rookie record and becoming just the second rookie since the 2004–05 lockout to reach the milestone (along with Alexander Ovechkin); he is just the fourth teenager in league history to accomplish the feat.
Auston Matthews Total Goals
Over/Under 75.5
Will Auston Matthews score 80 or more goals?
Yes 5/1 (+500)
No 1/10 (-1000)
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
