Maple Leafs roaring to historic, high-scoring start

DETROIT --These might seem like trivia questions, but they're hardly trivial for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Who is the youngest player in NHL history to record multiple points in each of his team's first five games of a season? It used to be
Wayne Gretzky
, who did it at 22 for the Edmonton Oilers in 1983-84. It is now Auston Matthews, who has done it for Toronto at 21.

Which defenseman in the modern era (since 1943-44) has recorded the most points in his team's first five games of a season? It used to be
Bobby Orr
, who had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) for the Boston Bruins in 1973-74. It is now Morgan Rielly, who has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) for Toronto.
Rielly said that was unimportant and preferred to talk about playing the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, NBCSWA, NHL.TV).
"It's a good challenge for us," Rielly said. "You want these types of games early on in the season to kind of gauge where you're at, and I think no better way than to play against the Cup champs."
RELATED: [Matthews scores ninth goal in Maple Leafs win vs. Red Wings | Records.NHL.com]
But when you're breaking records held by the likes of Gretzky and Orr, that's a pretty good gauge. And that's just the beginning of Toronto's hot start.
The Maple Leafs lead the NHL standings with eight points (4-1-0), averaging five goals per game, their power play clicking at 50 percent.
They have the top four scorers in the NHL, combining for 44 points. Matthews (nine goals, three assists) and Rielly have 12 each. Center John Tavares (six goals, four assists) and forward Mitchell Marner (three goals, seven assists) have 10 each.
Only five teams in NHL history have had four players combine for more than 44 points in the first five games of a season: the 1984-85 New York Islanders (51), 1979-80 Los Angeles Kings (47), 1973-74 Bruins (47), 1917-18 Toronto Arenas (46) and 1988-89 Pittsburgh Penguins (45).
Matthews is the 12th player in NHL history to record multiple points in each of his team's first five games of a season. He's also the 16th, but the fifth since 1930-31, to score nine goals in his team's first five games of a season.
Tavares has more points in his first five games with the Maple Leafs than any player in the team's history since the NHL's inaugural season in 1917-18. In other words, no true newcomer has had a better Toronto debut.

"I think it's great for all the guys that are doing some scoring right now, makes you feel good," coach Mike Babcock said. "In the end, though, it's about winning each and every night, and it doesn't really matter on our team who does the scoring as long as we score enough and we find a way to win.
"I think the guys have been real good about that, whether it's [Tavares] or [Matthews] or [Marner] or any of those guys. They know what they're here for. It's an exciting time for our team, but we've got to get a lot better as you go."
Yes, it's early in a long season. The Maple Leafs won't keep up this pace and need to improve, especially defensively, not to mention keep all their pieces together under the NHL salary cap in the long term.
But remember, they're doing this without center William Nylander, their third-leading scorer last season with 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists), an unsigned restricted free agent.
Calling it a good sign is an understatement. This team is bursting with young talent and has integrated Tavares seamlessly after he signed a seven-year, $77 million contract (average annual value $11 million) as a free agent July 1. The pieces fit together well and pose problems for opponents.
At even strength, who do you match up against, Matthews' line or Tavares' line?
On the penalty kill, how do you stop their first power-play unit? Rielly is on top. Matthews, a left shot, is on the left flank; Marner, a right shot, is on the right. With their sticks on the outside, they aren't set up for one-timers, but that makes them more unpredictable and harder to get sticks on pucks. Center Nazem Kadri is in the slot and Tavares net front.
"We've got a lot of weapons," Matthews said. "We're not scoring the same way over and over again. I feel like we're scoring on different looks and different plays."

It's incredibly entertaining, as long as you're not playing against them. Between periods of the Maple Leafs' 5-3 win at the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano was interviewed on the gigantic scoreboard screen at Little Caesars Arena. He was asked how he was enjoying the matchup. He laughed.
Devellano wasn't enjoying the matchup much. The Maple Leafs, he told the crowd in the middle of the game, were "too good."
With the Red Wings where the Maple Leafs were a few years ago, rebuilding, the Maple Leafs are where the Red Wings were in the mid-1990s, ascending.
They might be in the early stages of a special era like Detroit was in then, too.