Matthews' chase for 70 goals comes up short

Auston Matthews failed to score his 70th goal in the Toronto Maple Leafs' regular-season finale Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.

The soon-to-be three-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner tallied a staggering nine scoring chances and 12 shots on 16 attempts in the contest. His best chance came when he rung one off the crossbar in the second period.

Auston Matthews was THIS CLOSE to his 70th goal of the season#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/jnDtbTkcdV

- Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 18, 2024

"I wanted it, for sure," Matthews said postgame. "But it just wasn't meant to be."

Matthews leads the league with 20 shots off posts and crossbars this season. His goal total also could've been higher if he notched more than two empty-net goals.

However, Matthews' 69 goals are still the most since Mario Lemieux recorded the same total in 1995-96. One more tally would've given Matthews the most since Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne each scored 76 in 1992-93. Only eight players in NHL history have reached the 70-goal plateau.

Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.