Nylander's breakaway brilliance helps Leafs snap skid
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The Maple Leafs defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. The team is off on Friday as they travel to Montreal.
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William Nylander insisted the Leafs losing streak wasn't anything to lose sleep over.
"It's only been three games," he said following Wednesday's practice. "So, what's the big deal, really?"
The star winger backed up that comment with two goals on Thursday, including the overtime winner, as the Leafs got back in the win column against former coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils.
Nylander entered the game with just one goal in the previous 11 outings. That dry spell, much like the losing streak, is now in the past.
"Willy had a heck of a game," said coach Craig Berube. "He had second and third efforts on pucks. He was working, as everybody was. The whole team worked and competed hard."
The Leafs dominated possession and outshot the Devils 41-24.
"A lot of hard work and then that started paying off, and started getting more high-quality scoring chances, so just build off of that," Nylander said. "We can gain a lot momentum ... We played our best game in a couple weeks, I think."
Nylander scored Toronto's first goal and then ended the game early in his first shift of overtime. Devils defenceman Luke Hughes went for an ill-advised change, which allowed Nylander to get in all alone on Jacob Markstrom.
"I don't know who gets more breakaways in the NHL than this guy," said Leafs centre Auston Matthews. "So, yeah, I had a pretty good feeling about it."
"He reads the game very well," Berube said. "He has a really high hockey IQ reading where he can get open and take advantage of people."
Nylander downplayed his ability to break away.
"I don't know," he shrugged, "get a lot of good passes."
Nylander is usually pretty lethal in 1-on-1 situations once he gets them.
"He seems like he always steps up in those moments," said Leafs goalie Joseph Woll.
What makes him so good in those situations?
"He doesn't give you much to read off of," Woll explained. "It feels like if you move at all he's going to pick that spot. So, it's tough. He makes you feel like you have a lot of holes because it feels like there's always something available, and he finds it. He's very good at reading the goalie."
Nylander is tied for fourth in the NHL with 26 goals this season.
The 28-year-old has played his entire career in Toronto and never seems to get flustered by the ups and downs in the centre of the hockey universe.
"It is what it is," Nylander said with a shrug.
"He doesn't really change," said Matthews. "I think he's the same person through and through. Attitude stays the same. You know, he's going to do his thing out there, and he's not really going to let any outside noise kind of bother him. I think that's something that you really appreciate."
Nylander does seem to sense the occasion and understand when a big effort is required. At Wednesday's practice, he watched as his longtime centre John Tavares exited with a lower-body injury. Tavares was placed on injured reserve on Thursday and is listed as week-to-week. Max Domi, who has been struggling to produce offence this season with three goals and 13 assists through 38 games, was elevated to the second line.
"Tough when you see a guy go down like that in practice, but I thought the group responded well and Max had a really nice game," Nylander said. "Our line was buzzing."
It was Domi who set up Nylander's first goal with some good work on the forecheck.
"He stepped up his intensity in the game," Berube said, "just being involved and around the play more."
Nylander's goal gave Domi the 300th assist of his career. What does Nylander like about playing with Domi?
"He finds me," the Swede said with a smile.
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Matthews also scored twice on Thursday night, including a short-side snipe on Markstrom to tie the game late in the third period. Matthews beat Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger in an identical spot during Tuesday's game.
"This is kind of one of those times where it doesn't matter where he's getting it," noted linemate Mitch Marner. "He's got a lane, it's got a chance to go in, so it's great to see. Obviously, his shot's a weapon and it's been going in, so I try to keep finding him in spaces that he can get it on and off."
It was Matthews' first two-goal game since Dec. 4.
"Yeah, he's turning it up," Nylander said with a smile.
A nagging upper-body injury has slowed Matthews' production this season, but he's now scored in five of seven games since returning from a second stint on injured reserve.
"He's had a couple of nice shots over the past few games," said Woll. "I mean, I see him every day in practice, and he does the same thing to me so a little bit of empathy for the other goalies. But, yeah, when he's in alone like that, you can count on him."
Matthews didn't just score for the Leafs on Thursday. He was a dominant presence all over the ice.
"He led the way," said Berube. "He was dialled in. He was working, shooting, attacking, and doing a lot of good things. We need that from our leader."
With the Leafs trailing 2-1 in the third period, it was Matthews who came through with a drawn penalty and a big power-play goal. And when they fell behind again, it was Matthews who found the range on his patented shot.
"Just staying with it," the captain said. "I thought we competed hard all game. Just had to battle our way and grind through and push it until the end. Obviously, it took a full 60 minutes plus, but I'm just proud of the guys [for] just sticking with it. Everybody rolling, all four lines. I thought the competitiveness was there all night."
Matthews received the team's player-of-the-game belt from Connor Dewar.
"Way to battle," he told teammates. "That's a big one, let's keep it going here."
The Leafs did not hit the ice on Friday, opting for rest ahead of Saturday's showdown with the surging Montreal Canadiens.
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Marner's assist on Matthews' second goal was the 700th point of his career. He is the fastest player (622 games) in franchise history to reach that mark, eclipsing Darryl Sittler (666).
"It's a cool milestone," he said. "Obviously it doesn't happen without a lot of support around you through the nine years that I've been here. So, been very fortunate to play with some really great players and some guys that have made it easy for me to do my job."
"It is pretty incredible," Berube said. "He is a heck of a player. We all know that. You guys have seen him a lot more than me over the years. There is not much he can't do in terms of the game."
Marner picked up another assist on Nylander's game winner.
"Had a little seam to make it and Willy with a great pick up and great goal," Marner said.
"Just a great pass by Mitchy," said Nylander.
Marner landed four hits on Thursday, which matched linemate Matthew Knies and defenceman Philippe Myers for the team high.
"It was a competitive game," Matthews said. "There wasn't a lot of space there so really had to work for everything that we got. And, you know, that's what he does. He makes big-time plays when we need them. And he definitely did that."
Matthews will soon join Marner in the 700 club. He has amassed 683 points in 593 career games.
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Prior to the game, Keefe lauded Toronto's top talent.
"I don't think these guys get nearly enough credit for how hard they compete on the puck, the turnovers they can create, and how they forecheck," he said.
Both Matthews and Marner were nominated for the Selke Trophy during Keefe's time behind the bench in Toronto. Keefe is hoping Devils centre Jack Hughes can learn from watching the Leafs stars.
"Examples of how they are working, competing, and creating offence out of that really set the foundation of how I went at it with Jack," Keefe said. "He is a confident guy, but I think there were some things he was unsure of on the defensive side in terms of the impact he could really make."
Hughes scored the opening goal for New Jersey on Thursday night. The 23-year-old American has expressed a desire to play on a line with Matthews at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
"The skill sets match in a lot of ways," Keefe said. "I have been so impressed coaching Jack this season. He has been tremendous in taking on more and wanting to grow."
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Berube didn't agree when a reporter suggested the Leafs power play has been slumping.
"The power play in the last 10 games is 23 per cent," the coach pointed out. "That's not struggling. I get what you are saying. It has struggled at times in games. Looking at Vancouver, it struggled, I get it."
The Leafs went 0-for-3 against the Vancouver Canucks in Saturday's shutout loss, which led to a return to the five-forward alignment on Tuesday. Even with Tavares out, the team is sticking with that look with Bobby McMann taking over in the bumper.
"He's been a good player this year for us, scoring some goals and things like that," Berube noted. "I wanted a big guy in that bumper for the net presence and things like that along with Knies. With the way our power play is set up, I want two big guys at the net."
McMann, who stands 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, picked up the secondary assist on Thursday's power-play goal while Knies was at the net front helping Matthews create chaos.
"It's getting it to the net with numbers around the net," Berube said. "[New Jersey] scored a goal the same way. You got to shoot pucks with numbers around the net. It doesn't have to be complicated."
With Thursday's goal, the Leafs are up to 20.8 per cent on the power play this season, which ranks 18th overall.
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Jake McCabe, who had missed the previous four games, made an immediate impact in his return to the Leafs lineup on Thursday. The defenceman picked up two assists while playing a game high 24 minutes and 16 seconds.
"Just the calmness, the presence of him," Marner said when asked about the impact. "Obviously every time he's out there he's usually against the best players on the other team, and he's not making it easy on them."
PerNatural StatTrick.com, shots favoured the Leafs 10-4 in the just over 10 minutes McCabe played against Jack Hughes at 5-on-5.
"He plays such a big role on our team back there," Matthews gushed. "He's playing against the top lines, top players, and he brings that physicality. He's a guy that's been around for a while and plays a big role on our team, so it meant a lot to have him back there. He played great."
McCabe blocked five shots, fired five of his own, and was also credited with two hits.
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Leafs lines in Thursday's game:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Domi - Nylander
Pacioretty - Holmberg - Robertson
Lorentz - Kampf - Dewar
Rielly - Myers
McCabe - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - Timmins
Woll
Hildeby