Nylander absent from practice as illness hits Leafs room

The Maple Leafs practiced at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday.

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Leafs winger William Nylander missed practice with an illness and may not be available for Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Kings.

"That's up in the air right now," said head coach Craig Berube. "We'll see how he feels later on."

Nylander, who scored twice in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, is only the latest Leaf to get sick as a bug makes its way through the room.

"We've had more guys with it too, but they were able to keep going," Berube noted. "We got to watch for it."

John Tavares missed Saturday's game and Monday's practice after getting sick. The 34-year-old centre returned to the ice on Tuesday, but is still managing the effects of the illness.

"It's been a battle for a few days," Tavares said. "Unfortunately that's the way it goes sometimes. Still kind of coming around and just getting my energy back."

Tavares revealed he lost a little bit of weight in the last few days. It showed.

"He was low energy to me," said Berube after practice. "It's hard, but he's a good pro and got out today and got a sweat. I'm sure he'll feel better later."

Tavares described the illness as "flu-like" and added that there were no stomach-related issues.

"I was able to still eat and hydrate a decent amount," he said. "But I had a few nights that were pretty difficult."

Tavares stayed off the ice for four straight days after playing and scoring in New Jersey last Thursday.

"Certainly you notice the difference when you're battling an illness and then when you've been off the ice for a few days," he said.

The Leafs prepared on Tuesday as if Tavares will play against the Kings and Nylander will not. Pontus Holmberg moved from centre to the wing on a line with Tavares and Nick Robertson.

"I know both players well," Tavares said. "Played with Robby a fair amount [and] you know the tenaciousness that he has, obviously an amazing shot, a knack for the net. Holmer is just very versatile, very competitive, very strong on the puck, and good awareness out there. Something for me to adapt to and get the most out of it."

Max Domi remained in the middle, where he played in Tavares' absence on Saturday, and was flanked by Max Pacioretty and Bobby McMann at practice. Domi picked up a pair of assists in the win over Pittsburgh.

"When he went to centre, he started feeling it a bit," observed Pacioretty. "Bobby's a big, strong body who definitely can create some time and space out there. So, two very good players. Yeah, it'd be nice to play them."

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Pacioretty took Nylander's spot with the top power-play unit at practice. During Saturday's game, the veteran winger also got an audition with that group, which usually features Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Tavares, Nylander and Morgan Rielly.

"It's definitely tough to jump into because they've had so much chemistry for so long," Pacioretty admitted. "And while that's very, very hard to defend, it is tough to jump into because they kind of know when they're going to read off each other and switch and make plays."

Pacioretty has scored 80 power-play goals in his 905-game career. Two of his four goals last season came on the man advantage.

"He's been a good power-play guy in this league for a long time and scored goals," Berube said. "He's big [6-foot-2, 217 pounds]. I think it's important that we have a guy that can get the shot off and also be heavy inside around the net."

The Leafs top unit often operates with lots of movement with the players switching positions all over the ice.

"I've never done it like that because I'm not as skilled as those guys," said Pacioretty with a smile. "If I'm predictable maybe I could help ... maybe at times there are chances to throw it into a stick in there and try and collapse them and then that allows things to open up and allows seams to open up."

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The Leafs have failed to convert on all nine power-play chances so far this season. Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson replaced Rielly as the quarterback on the top unit midway through the game Saturday and has remained in that spot at practice.

"We don't need to panic or overreact," Tavares stressed. "I mean, no doubt we want to be better, have to be, need urgency, structure, execution, all those things, but I also think we just need to relax and play and stick with it."

The team has used a good chunk of the two practice days this week to work on the power play. For the second straight day, they wrapped up the workout with a small-area game. One net was placed on the side boards and one was put off to the side on the end boards. An orange line was drawn down the middle of the zone with the two power-play units on either side chasing a loose puck while facing off against only two penalty killers.

The focus? 

"Puck touches and puck movement," Berube said. "Not dusting it off, moving it quick. Sometimes power plays get stagnant or are stagnant because they're not seeing it. They're not moving it quick enough.

They're not making the PK move quick enough. This drill just gets more touches and more opportunities to shoot pucks with only two killers out there."

It's also a drill that leads to a lot of goals. 

"It makes them feel good," Berube said.

The sense is one goal on Wednesday and the floodgates will open.

"There's some chances and then you get frustrated and you probably over-complicate things," Pacioretty said. "It's just a matter of great players trying to make a difference. The skill in this power play, it's bound to happen. It's going to come, and then once it does come, confidence takes over and goals start pouring in."

Toronto's power play faded down the stretch last season and went 1/21 in the playoffs. There is a new assistant coach, Marc Savard, overseeing the units this season.

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After getting back on the ice on Monday, Joseph Woll skated again briefly before practice.

"He's improving," Berube said. "No issues after yesterday on the ice, which is great news."

Woll was scheduled to start the season opener in Montreal last week, but was a surprise scratch due to what the team has called "lower body tightness."

Berube says there's "a good chance" the 26-year-old could join teammates at the optional morning skate on Wednesday.

"They feel like it's a position of luxury now," said TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. "They are going to be conservative. They are going to take their time with Woll."

After earning his first win with the Leafs on Saturday, Anthony Stolarz is in line to start again against the Kings. He only started consecutive games once last season with the Florida Panthers and those starts were separated by the bye week and All-Star break.

"Just trying to be consistent," the 30-year-old said. "That's probably the biggest thing for me that I want to focus on right now is just going out there and working hard and making sure that night in and night out, when my name's called, I'm giving the guys a chance to win."

Stolarz has a sparkling .940 save percentage through two games, but he's not accustomed to a heavy workload at the NHL level. His career high in starts is 24, which was set last season with the Panthers.

"Obviously, it's not going to be 1-0, 2-1 games every night," said Stolarz, who played just once in October last year. "You're going to have your 5-4, 6-5 games where you give up some goals, but you kind of just have to put it in the rear-view mirror and focus on that next shot."

The Kings are one of the teams Stolarz is most familiar with courtesy his four seasons with the Anaheim Ducks (2019 to 2023). He's 0-3-1 in five appearances against Los Angeles with a .919 save percentage.

"It was a tense rivalry for sure," he said of his time in California. "It was always a hard-fought game, a little physical, a little gritty, but just having that familiarity with them and some of their players is going to help me know what to expect tomorrow."

With Woll's status uncertain, Stolarz may end up playing three times in a six-day stretch starting on Wednesday. He says the chance to play more was "probably the No. 1" reason he signed a two-year deal with the Leafs in the summer.

The bigger workload isn't the only adjustment for the New Jersey native this season. After spending the last five years in the non-traditional markets of Anaheim and Florida, Stolarz is under the microscope like never before. What's been his welcome-to-Toronto moment?

"Probably you guys right here," he said with a smile while surveying the group of reporters around him. "Just the media presence. But it's been a lot of fun. I'm enjoying myself so far. It's been extremely welcoming, the guys, the city, the community, so I'm looking forward to a lot more going forward."

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The injury to Woll opened the door for Dennis Hildeby to make his first NHL start last Thursday in New Jersey. The 23-year-old Swede earned the victory by stopping 21 of 23 shots.

"He was fantastic," raved Stolarz, who got a rest in his home state after playing the night before. "You look at his poise in the net, they would get a goal and it didn't even faze him, didn't rattle him. He kind of looked like a five-year veteran ... I was just ecstatic for him after the game. He worked his ass off that game."

Hildeby only texted with his parents before the milestone moment, because he felt a call would be too emotional. What was it like when they finally spoke?

"Mom kept it together," he said with a smile. "Harder for dad to speak. I mostly spoke to my mom. They were very happy."

Hildeby's parents stayed up late in Sweden and watched the season opener in Montreal simply because their son was dressing as the back-up goalie. They stayed up late again on Thursday while the game took place, but they didn't actually watch.

"They were too nervous," Hildeby said. "As soon as the game ended they checked the score and watched. It's probably one of the first times my dad has done that, but my mom couldn't even watch me in juniors."

Hildeby received the game puck afterwards and said he will give it to his dad, who has a collection going. That's got to be the best one now, right?

"Maybe," Hildeby said with a grin. "For now."

The Leafs play on consecutive nights to start next week, which means Hildeby could be in line for another appearance on Oct. 22 in Columbus.

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Pacioretty is enjoying spending time around Toronto's stars, including Nylander.

"When I watch Willy do his cutbacks, it's unlike anything I've ever seen when it comes to protecting the puck," he said. "I'm sending videos of it to my kids saying, 'This is how you guys have to do it. Don't do it like me.' ... That's actually, coincidentally, an area that I'm working on with the skating coaches."

Pacioretty was on the ice working with Toronto's skating consultants before practice on Tuesday. He also stayed out late, well after the other regulars, to work alongside the player development staff and injured players. The extensive resources in Toronto represent a big reason why Pacioretty, who's coming off an injury-plagued stretch, signed with the Leafs.

"This summer was focused more on my body and my overall general health and now when I get out there with the skills coaches, skating or shooting with [Patrick O'Sullivan from the player development staff] you realize that a lot of my tendencies are kind of gone from just from compensation patterns," said Pacioretty, who returned from an Achilles tear in January. "So working on building those back up."

The Leafs opened the season with three games in four nights with travel between each game, which proved challenging for Pacioretty, who will turn 36 next month.

"It's been a lot," he admitted. "It's never easy to change teams and under these circumstances even more so. I liked my first game. Second game was pretty good. Didn't like my last game. So I want to start trending in the right direction and try and build some games together."

Pacioretty took a penalty on Saturday against the Penguins and only played three shifts in the third period.

He picked up a big goal on Thursday in New Jersey, but feels he has more to give in the offensive end.

"Holding onto pucks is my strongest skill and it hasn't really been there for me," he said. "I thought it was better in that first game. Maybe some parts of that second game there. Last year when I was playing at my best, I was hanging onto pucks in a physical way and kind of wearing down a D-man and making the other team come back to their end and stop and, for whatever reason, it hasn't been there yet, but I know it'll come."

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Berube addressed the players as they stretched at centre ice following practice. The coach cautioned his group not to read into what happened on Monday in Ottawa where the Kings lost a crazy, wide open 8-7 overtime thriller.

"Can't even look at that," Berube said. "There's going to be a hungry team tomorrow coming in here. They're a good team. They've been a good team. They're big and heavy, so we're got to be prepared. It's going to be a hard game."

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Lines at Tuesday's practice:

Knies - Matthews - Marner

Holmberg - Tavares - Robertson

McMann - Domi - Pacioretty

Lorentz - Kampf - Reaves

Dewar

Rielly - Tanev

Ekman-Larsson - McCabe

Benoit - Liljegren

Timmins - Myers

Hakanpää

Stolarz

Hildeby

Power play units at Tuesday's practice:

PP1

Ekman-Larsson, Matthews, Marner, Pacioretty, Tavares

PP2

Rielly, Robertson, Domi, McMann, Knies

McCabe rotated in with PP2 for Robertson