Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 59th and 60th goals of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 on Tuesday to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
John Tavares had the other goal and Jack Campbell made 20 saves to register his fifth shutout of 2021-22 — and first since Jan. 1 — for Toronto (53-21-7), which set a franchise record with its 30th home victory of the season. William Nylander added two assists.
Auston Matthews netted goals number 59 and 60 in Toronto’s 3-0 win over Detroit on Tuesday. 1:59
The Leafs are now locked into the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Division and will open the playoffs next week at Scotiabank Arena against either the Boston Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning.
Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 33 shots for Detroit (31-40-10).
Matthews, who suited up for his third straight game after missing three in a row with an undisclosed injury, had a number of great looks through the game’s first 35 minutes before finally solving Nedeljkovic with 4:12 left in the second period.
