Auston Matthews News: Pots empty-netter

Matthews scored an empty-net goal on seven shots and blocked three shots in Monday's 2-0 win over the Lightning.

Matthews has three goals and three assists over his last six games. He's providing steady offense in a top-line role, though his scoring hasn't been as efficient this year, as he's at 12 goals, 20 points, 92 shots on net, 47 blocks and a plus-12 rating through 24 appearances. That's a 40-goal pace in a full campaign, but he's already missed five contests due to a lower-body injury in November, so the center will need to find a bit more offense to reach that level in 2025-26.