Auston Matthews scored his 69th goal, but the Maple Leafs lost in OT

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Sixty-nine goals left.

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And one goes to Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews.

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Today, the leading goal scorer in the National Hockey League is in the midst of one of the 15th 70-goal seasons in league history.

On Saturday night in the Leafs' final home game of the 2023-24 regular season against the Detroit Red Wings, Matthews scored his 69th goal on a Toronto power play set up by Mitch Marner.

Matthews, sitting in the faceoff spot to the right of goaltender James Reimer, extended his scoring streak to 14 games and scored his eighth straight game when he put Marner in the back of the net at 10:23 of the second period.

It was a good one for the Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. They couldn't quite overcome the first period, struggling for a spot against the opener Wings, losing 5-4 in overtime when Dylan Larkin deflected Patrick Kane's pass past goaltender Ilya Samsonov. The goal came with 41 seconds left and Max Domi hit a service call for a minor late in the third period.

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As Matthews reached 69, the temperature in the building shifted in anticipation of the next round.

“It's a big concern,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It doesn't help us what we want to accomplish on the ice, but it's fun. I understand.

“Especially when he gets to 69, you can see him and he grows, he waits. And now you are feeding it. I am feeding him. I wanted it to happen, I wanted it for the fans. But I'm glad the game is over. Let's move on.”

The fans resumed MVP chants and moaned and groaned as Matthews had scoring opportunities. He finished the game with 15 attempts, including 10 shots on goal, and played 23 minutes and 59 seconds.

“It's great to have the support in town and the fan base, it means a lot,” Matthews said. “Really cool and unique. I try to approach every game with the same attitude, I try not to overthink anything.”

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Matthews is at least one game away from reaching 70 goals. And if Keefe doesn't rest him for either of the club's final two games, two games Tuesday and Wednesday at Florida and Tampa Bay, respectively.

“We're going to make whatever decision we think is best for the team,” Keefe said. “We have to dress 18 skaters. We have guys who are not available. That's going to be a factor and what the salary cap is going to be, we can only have so many guys. We have a lot to deal with going forward.”

Matthews extended his scoring streak to 14 games and scored in his eighth straight game. Kane served a double-minor for Simon Benoit when Matthews scored.

The goal was the second in a three-goal Leafs rally that tied the teams 4-4 after 40 minutes.

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Nick Robertson, playing in his 500th NHL game, fooled Reimer with a shot at 9:04, and John Tavares also scored on a pass from Marner at 17:22.

Marner singled him in shortly after Matthews scored, but Reimer pinched his pads to make the save.

The Leafs' loss and Florida's win against Buffalo locked the Leafs into third place in the Atlantic Division. We know the Leafs will start the playoffs on the road; You have to figure out if it's in Florida or Boston.

INJURIES WATER

The main goal for any postseason team, once it happens, is to get there without any injuries.

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“Leaves” did not pass it safely.

Forward Bobby McMann did not return in the first period with a lower body injury.

In the second, defenseman Jake McCabe took a shot at Larkin's face and he was hurt as he bent over and headed to the locker room. A trail of blood followed McCabe as he left the ice, and he never returned.

“I don't know (the severity of McMann's injury),” Keefe said. “It looks like Jake will be fine. He could not come back, mainly because of the swelling around his eyes. His vision is intact. It got better, and if this trend continues, it will be better.”

After missing eight games with an upper-body injury in his first game, defenseman Timothy Liljegren sat out the game for several turnovers in the first period after falling on the final boards of the Wings' Joe Veleno. Major could have been called, but Veleno ended up in a juvenile boarding school.

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With McMann out, Keefe used the Tavares line between Marner and William Nylander, as he did against New Jersey on Thursday.

KANE DOWN

Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne were the last players to score 70 goals as they each scored 76 goals in 1992-93. The only player to approach 70 since then was Mario Lemieux, who scored 69 goals in 1995-96.

The historical implications of what Matthew did are lost on no one, least of all Kane.

“I feel like 60 is a big number when (Steven) Stamkos (2011-12) and (Alex) Ovechkin (2007-08) hit,” Kane said. “Seventy types seemed inaccessible to anyone.

“Even this year, I know there was some talk about it, but it didn't seem like a real number and all of a sudden (Matthews) was right there. I know he's had five or six hat tricks this year so that adds up, but his production has been off the charts. It's great.”

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FIRST IS THE WORST

In the first period, the Leafs played like a team that knew they were in the playoffs and didn't care about the competition.

Detroit led 4-1 at the first intermission, scored one power-play goal and scored three goals.

It was the second time this season the Lifters allowed four goals in the first period. It also happened on Nov. 6 against the Lightning, and the Leafs rallied for a 6-5 overtime win that night.

The Leafs didn't help Samsonov much, but the goaltending wasn't great either. The ugliest goal was scored by David Perron, who beat Samsonov on the short side in the last minute. It was Samsonov who struggled against the Devils 48 hours earlier, allowing six goals on 20 shots.

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Samsonov's save on Lucas Raymond midway through the third period was his biggest save of the night.

Morgan Rielly pinch-hit for another Detroit goal, and Nylander was soft along the boards, leading to another Wings goal.

Will the Leafs' poor first-round performance matter when the playoffs begin? No. But was it justified? Also, no.

Keefe wasn't happy with the last 10 minutes of the first.

“It looked like one of those nights where our guys thought it was going to be easy, and we know how that goes,” Keefe said. “It is not easy to come here.

“The players decided it was important. That's it. We know how to play. “When it's time to play, we'll show what we can do.”

Marner gave the Leafs a 1-0 lead at 8:35 of the first period.

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