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Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews. Photo: Tim Jarrold -in Play! magazine
Auston Matthews tallied twice against the Islanders and became the 10th player in franchise history to hold Toronto’s outright goals record. He surpassed Mats Sundin, who also had his record-breaking goal versus New York. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
04
Jan

NHL JANUARY 3, 2026 – Matthews Surpasses Sundin for most goals in franchise’s 108-year history

Auston Matthews tallied twice versus the Islanders to reach 421 career goals and leapfrog Mats Sundin (420) as the franchise’s all-time leader, a title Sundin had held since also scoring against New York more than 18 years ago on Oct. 11, 2007.

  • Matthews was mobbed by teammates and received a heartfelt message from Sundin after scoring the record-breaking goal. Matthews also became the second U.S.-born player in NHL history with 10 straight 20-goal seasons from the start of his career, joining Patrick Kane (13 from 2007-08 – 2019-20) who is pursuing a record of his own.

Raddysh, Regenda RECORD DUELING HAT TRICKS AS LIGHTNING climb standings

Darren Raddysh and Pavol Regenda recorded dueling hat tricks while Nikita Kucherov (1-4—5) collected his franchise record-extending eighth career five-point game as the Lightning (25-13-3, 53 points) reclaimed first place in the Eastern Conference via their seventh straight victory. Raddysh and Regenda became the second set of players to record dueling hat tricks this season – the other instance involved Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini and Raddysh’s brother, Taylor, on Oct. 23, 2025.

  • Darren and Taylor became the second set of brothers in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to each score a hat trick during the same season where one was a defenseman and the other was a forward, following Rangers teammates Don (Jan. 6 & March 31, 1980) and Dave Maloney (March 9, 1980). The Raddysh siblings were also the first brothers to each score a hat trick against the same opponent in a season since Quebec Nordiques teammates Marian (Oct. 21, 1982) and Peter Stastny (Dec. 11, 1982) did so versus Pittsburgh.
  • Raddysh clocked his first, second and third tallies at 89.70, 97.60 and 92.19 mph, respectively. He accounts for two of the three hardest shots resulting in a goal this season.

STRONG PERFORMANCES TO FINISH FIRST HALF OF 2025-26

The 2025-26 season reached its halfway mark following the 13th and final game on Saturday, yet a number of players finished the first half with strong performances.

  • Nathan MacKinnon (1-3—4) notched his 33rd career four-point game (and second in as many contests) to pass Joe Sakic for sole possession of the second most in franchise history and lead the Avalanche to their 10th straight victory. After also posting a 10-game run earlier this season from Nov. 4-26, 2025, the Avalanche became the fourth team in NHL history to record multiple double-digit winning streaks in a campaign following the 2019-20 Lightning (11 GP & 10 GP), 1970-71 Bruins (13 GP & 10 GP) and 1929-30 Bruins (14 GP & 11 GP).
  • Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) factored on half of his club’s goals to extend his point streak to six games, helping the Penguins win their fourth straight and propel Pittsburgh (19-12-9, 47 points) back into a playoff spot. Crosby extended his point streak against the Red Wings to nine games, which is his second-longest active run against a franchise – his lengthiest is versus the Sharks (10 GP dating to Jan. 2, 2022).
  • More highlights from the slate include Matthew Schaefer (2-0—2) scoring the overtime winner in the first game against his hometown team, Zach Werenski (0-2—2) helping Columbus snap Buffalo’s double-digit winning streak, Nicolas Hague getting the go-ahead goal during the final 30 seconds of regulation as well as Connor McDavid (1-1—2) and Tim Stützle (0-1—1) stretching their point streak to 15 and 12 contests, respectively.

FIVE GAMES ON TAP FOR SUNDAY

A five-game Sunday will feature seven teams on the last half of back-to-backs.

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Guest Writer