William Nylander’s return to Toronto’s lineup has sparked the Maple Leafs’ return to the win column.
Nylander scored his 18th goal of the season and added two assists on Monday to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-2 NHL victory over the Calgary Flames.
“He’s just so good and so dangerous,” said linemate John Tavares. “His ability — it seems like the puck is glued to his stick, following him around the ice — that’s what makes great players special, their ability to control the game and the things flow through them.”
After going 1-5-1 while Nylander was sidelined with a groin injury, the Leafs have won two straight upon his return.
“He’s so dynamic,” said goaltender Joseph Woll, who made 28 saves. “Every time he’s on the ice, he’s a threat to score. So, it’s a big confidence boost having him up there, and obviously it’s great to have him back.”
Nylander put his stamp on this game just 35 seconds in.
With the Flames buzzing dangerously around the Toronto end, Jonathan Huberdeau’s pass was intercepted by Tavares, who sprung Nylander on a breakaway and his snap shot gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.
“Great play by John,” said Nylander. “We’ve been playing from behind a lot lately, so it was nice to get that one early.”
The 28-year-old right-winger continued his prowess in the second period, neatly setting up Matias Maccelli at 7:17 to make it 2-0, then less than two minutes later, finding Troy Stecher breaking to the net and the defenceman buried what would end up being the game-winner.
“He’s (Nylander) unbelievable, man, I wish I could play that way,” said Stecher with a smile. “He’s so talented, obviously, and he just plays with so much confidence. And if he makes a mistake, it doesn’t beat him up, he’s still out there making plays.
“He’s one of the top players in the world for a reason. It’s impressive to watch him every day do what he does.”
Leafs coach Craig Berube pointed to that third goal as an example of the dynamic offence that line and his team can produce.
“A great four-on-four goal,” said the Toronto bench boss. “Just the movement, you get on four-on-four, it’s man-on-man, and (Stecher) beat his guy to the net and Willy made a great play to him, and he made a nice move on the goalie.”
Berube says it’s the type of impact Nylander can have.
“Having Willy back has really boosted our team a lot. Obviously, he is a great player in this league, and having him in the lineup makes us a much more dangerous team.”
Nylander leads the club in scoring with 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists), despite missing 17 games due to injury.
On a points-per-game basis, Nylander is having the most productive season of his career averaging 1.31 points per game, which ranks ninth in the league.
“I thought our line, obviously driven by him, just making good plays, staying hard on pucks. I think just doing a pretty good job throughout the neutral zone for most of the night, and allowed us to gain some good puck possession,” said Tavares. “Use our abilities to spread the ice, move the puck, and obviously, when Willy gets it in spaces, he’s as dangerous as anybody.”
It was also a homecoming of sorts for Nylander, who was born in Calgary while his father, Michael, played for the Flames in the mid-’90s. In 26 career games, he’s piled up 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists). In his last seven trips to Calgary, he has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists).
“I haven’t really thought too much about it, I mean I was only a year-and-a-half when I was here,” he said. “So I don’t really remember anything, but, it’s a nice place to be.”
Bobby McMann, into an empty net, also scored for Toronto which moves to within seven points of the Boston Bruins, who occupy the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
“I have a lot of belief in this team that doesn’t waver regardless of results,” said Woll. “I see our systems we play. I see how solid we are in front of me and how dynamic we are at scoring. So, I have all the confidence in the world in this group and we’ve just got to keep it rolling.”
The Leafs will look to make it a perfect Western Canada road trip when they play their final game before the Olympic Break on Tuesday night in Edmonton.
