MONTREAL — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-best 35th goal of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Wednesday night to clinch a playoff spot.
William Nylander, Jake Muzzin and Adam Brooks provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (31-13-5), which got 32 saves from Jack Campbell. Morgan Rielly and Jason Spezza added two assists each as the North Division leaders improved to 5-2-0 against their Original Six rivals in 2021.
Spezza is now tied with Canadiens legend Maurice (Rocket) Richard for 99th on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 966 career points.