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Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews undresses Brayden Point for goal

By Connor Grott
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews scored his 31st goal of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. Photo courtesy of NHL/YouTube
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews scored his 31st goal of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. Photo courtesy of NHL/YouTube

March 12 (UPI) -- Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews pulled off a beautiful deke and manuevered around Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point for a goal Monday.

Matthews grabbed the puck at center ice and skated into the zone while flanked by two teammates. Trailing 4-0 in the second period, the center opted to attack the Lightning defense instead of passing the puck.

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Matthews swiftly stickhandled around Point near the right face-off circle and fired a quick shot to beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

It was Matthews 31st goal of the season. He has 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists) in 55 games this year. The forward's goal ended a three-game point drought.

The Lightning cruised to a 6-2 win over the Maple Leafs. Tampa Bay forwards Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette each scored two goals to pace the club.

Toronto sits in third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 89 points. They trail No. 2 seed Boston by four points.

The Maple Leafs play the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

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