Maple Leafs' dynamic rookies continue to make history

With assists from William Nylander and Mitch Marner on Monday night in Buffalo, the Toronto Maple Leafs became just the second team in NHL history to feature three rookies with 60-plus points each, joining the 1980-81 Quebec Nordiques, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Toronto's 4-2 win also increased its record to 11-2-1 over its last 14 games.

"This is a pretty good time of year to be heating up," Auston Matthews told Mark Masters of TSN.

Matthews, of course, rounds out the 60-point rookie club in Toronto, and scored again Monday off a beautiful feed from Nylander. That tally gave Matthews 39 goals on the season, setting a single-season NHL record for goals by a U.S.-born rookie and matching Sidney Crosby's rookie total.

The goal was also Matthews' 67th point of the season, passing Peter Ihnacak for the Leafs' single-season record for points by a rookie.

The Leafs currently sit with 93 points - good for second in the Atlantic Division - as the rookie trio attempts to lead the franchise to its first playoff berth in a full 82-game season since 2003-04. The Buds have four games remaining - all at home - against Washington, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Columbus.