Unbelievable Auston Matthews moment going viral and for good reason

As Alex Ovechkin continues to taper off at his advanced age, Matthews has really blossomed into a goal scoring machine, leaving just about everyone else in the dust. Yes, he finished last season with just 40 goals - I know, it seems wild to say "just 40 goals" - but what we've seen from him this season is just plain absurd.

Matthews added 3 more goals last night in Calgary, bringing his season total up to 37 goals and counting, putting him on pace for more than 70 goals this season. Just for reference, no player has scored more than 70 goals in the NHL since Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne back in 1992-93, when each player tallied an incredible 76 goals. To have Matthews doing this in today's game... it's unfathomable. Matthews is truly a generational goal scorer.

During last night's game, following Matthews' hat trick goal, he actually had the crowd chanting "M-V-P! M-V-P!" over and over... IN CALGARY. Seldom do we see the Scotiabank Arena crowd that invested, which is why it was a surprise to see the Leaf fans at a road game become so rowdy. You don't often hear chants like that in enemy territory.

The hat trick marked Matthews 4th such feat of the season and the 11th hat trick of his career. If Matthews can manage to keep up his elite goal scoring over the next 7 games, he has a legitimate shot at scoring 50 goals in 50 games. He'll need 13 goals over that span to hit the mark.

You'd have to imagine, at this point, that Auston Matthews is also among the favourites for the Hart Trophy, along with the NHL's leading scorer, Nikita Kucherov, who has amassed 28 goals and 75 points across 44 games. Matthews may not win the Art Ross Trophy, but he does have a legitimate shot at winning the 2nd Hart Trophy of his impressive young career.