{"id":265709,"date":"2025-11-06T14:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/265709\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:30:07","slug":"tavares-on-500-goal-mark-after-getting-no-501-in-leafs-win-hard-to-believe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/265709\/","title":{"rendered":"Tavares on 500-goal mark after getting No. 501 in Leafs’ win: ‘Hard to believe’"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 John Tavares<\/a> was joined on the ice before Wednesday\u2019s opening faceoff by his family to mark an impressive milestone.<\/p>\n

The veteran centre then went out and added another goal to an already gaudy stat line \u2014 and helped the Maple Leafs to another victory.<\/p>\n

Tavares buried the 501st goal of his career in the third period to give Toronto a lead it wouldn\u2019t surrender in a 5-3 decision over the Utah Mammoth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old was honoured prior to puck drop for becoming just the 49th player in NHL history to score 500 regular-season goals in a ceremony that included his parents, wife and three children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest supporters and sacrifice a lot so I can do what I do,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cReally glad I got to share it with them, and even better to follow up with a great effort and a big win.\u201d <\/p>\n

The product of nearby Oakville, Ont., is a methodical, stay-in-the-moment athlete, but the lead-up to Wednesday after getting No. 500 last week in a 6-3 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> allowed him some moments of reflection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hit me more today,\u201d said Tavares, who started his career with the New York Islanders<\/a> before signing with Toronto in the summer of 2018. \u201cThe goals are amazing and I\u2019m very proud of it, and a lot of people have contributed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut just to be going since I was a kid to this point, and be in the position I\u2019m in, I\u2019m just really grateful and thankful for so many people that have impacted me in such a great way and continue to support me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leafs captain Auston Matthew said Tavares is showing no signs of slowing down after bagging is seventh goal of the campaign as Toronto (8-5-1) picked up its third straight win.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuge honour to play with a guy like that,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cEven at the age that he\u2019s at, the way he takes care of himself, he\u2019s a true professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew Knies<\/a> called the 500-goal milestone an \u201castounding\u201d achievement for Tavares, who had the Toronto winger living with him when he first broke into the league in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives you chills,\u201d Knies said. \u201cFor him to score on this night, it\u2019s pretty special. I\u2019m just happy to be part of it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Leafs forward Matias Maccelli<\/a> is in his first year with the club. It didn\u2019t take him long to see Tavares is built different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most professional (player) I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said. \u201cWatch him, what he does, and learn from it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Also just the fourth NHLer to have 500 points with two different franchise, Tavares said he doesn\u2019t take either his longevity or numbers for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe,\u201d said the No. 1 pick at the 2009 draft. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to pinch yourself sometimes that you\u2019ve earned it and you\u2019ve put yourself among a few players that impacted the game a lot more than I have. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really special to be a part of that.\u201d <\/p>\n

REVENGE SPOT<\/p>\n

Maccelli scored the winner in his first game against Utah after being acquired by Toronto in the off-season. <\/p>\n

\u201cI played most of the guys for four years,\u201d said the 25-year-old. \u201cI enjoyed it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Maccelli was a healthy scratch for Monday\u2019s 4-3 comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> and re-entered the fray with added motivation on two fronts.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompetitive all over the ice,\u201d said Leafs head coach Craig Berube<\/a>. \u201cHe was really good.\u201d <\/p>\n

HEATING UP<\/p>\n

Matthews has goals in each of his last three games to give him eight through 15 contests after scoring just once in the previous six.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike where my game\u2019s been at,\u201d he said. \u201cGetting good opportunities, good chances throughout each game. Just want to keep that going, play well defensively, be responsible.\u201d <\/p>\n

SHOOTERS SHOOT<\/p>\n

Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz<\/a> tried to score on the empty net late in regulation, but his effort didn\u2019t get high enough off the ice and was blocked by hulking Utah forward Lawson Crouse<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were giving it to him,\u201d Matthews said with a smile. \u201cHe had all the time and just didn\u2019t get it in the air. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut up two, why not?\u201d <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025.<\/p>\n

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 John Tavares was joined on the ice before Wednesday\u2019s opening faceoff by his family to mark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-265709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}