Almost everyone had just left the ice.
It was the morning before Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, and William Nylander wasn't playing. He was still trying to rebuild himself after missing Games 1 and 2. So he enlisted the help of former Leaf and current development team staffer Nick Antropov to do just that, using every last bit of ice available to the Leafs that morning at Scotiabank Arena. , goalie coach Curtis Sanford, assistant coach Manny Malhotra and third goaltender Martin Jones.
“Let me take one,” Nylander yelled to Jones after one of his shots was stopped.
At that point, it was unclear whether Nylander would return to the Leafs against the Bruins. The Leafs also didn't provide details about what is keeping him away. Head coach Sheldon Keefe declined for several days to provide any information regarding Nylander.
When asked the morning after Game 1 if Nylander skated, Keefe replied, “I don't have any updates on Willie.”
When asked for more information about Nylander's state of mind, he added: “We don't have any updates on Willie.”
Fast forward to Thursday night, the Leafs' season is over, Auston Matthews is still missing (again, for unknown reasons), Nylander scores both goals in a 2-1 win, and the Leafs and Bruins Game 7 will be held again. .
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Weird and wild. That was Nylander's 2024 postseason. He went from missing a game to playing in all 82 regular season games to suddenly scoring the Leafs' two biggest goals of the season.
“It's a big deal. That's what you want from a player of his caliber,” Keefe said after Game 6.
Nylander went back to chanting “Willie!” Game 4 was at home, and he didn't play for 10 days and wasn't feeling well.
“The first game he played, he wasn't as good as Willie,” Keefe said. “And you see him making an effort to not just play, but to play in a series at this level and get back to playing in the series he's supposed to play in. I mean, this is tough. The free ice is Not that many.”
Nylander's game was stuck on the perimeter for much of Game 5. At one point in the first period, he had his hands on his knees before heading to the bench to catch his breath after his shift. His conditioning had to catch up to playoff hockey.
He famously befriended Mitch Marner on the bench during Game 4 on a night when the Leafs' season seemed to be over.
And the 6th game. And the return of Nylander, which the Leafs were looking for. An explosion from the right side in the second period. A dangerous shot. And in the final moments of the frame, Nylander used a feat of agility that he practices daily to nudge John Beecher away and send his puck into the net.
1-0 Leafs.
It was Nylander's first goal since March 26th. He was 11 games goal short of becoming a regular before being mysteriously absent from the start of the playoffs.
Then, with just over two minutes left in regulation, Nylander confidently shoved Swayman's pads on a breakaway.
dagger.
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“He's a real game breaker,” linemate John Tavares said. “Whenever he has the puck on his stick, he can always make something happen.”
The goal was even more important on a night without Matthews. If there was anyone the Leafs needed to score in Matthews' absence, it was Nylander, who scored 40 goals in back-to-back regular seasons.
But there was more to his game than that. The Scotiabank Arena crowd cheered as Nylander, an obscenely strong 202 pounds, put his weight on Parker Wotherspoon and stole the puck back.
Nylander had three hits in Game 6, which doesn't seem like a lot until you consider he had 32 hits in the entire regular season. He also blocked two Leafs shots that thwarted the Bruins' 27 attempts, which were critical to a gritty victory.
“He was outstanding tonight, not just with his two goals,” Keefe said. “He competed very hard off the puck. He defended really hard. A huge effort on his part.”
Nylander has been the Leafs' most reliable playoff performer over the years. Over the past four postseasons, including this one, he has scored a team-leading 14 goals, including three game-winning goals. On the other hand, he ranks behind Marner (29 points) and Matthews (28 points) with 27 points, even though he has played significantly less minutes. It is about 200 minutes shorter than Marner and about 130 minutes shorter than Matthews.
Nylander's numbers in the playoffs are very similar to the numbers he put up during the regular season.
- Regular season: 0.36 goals, 0.88 points per game
- Playoffs: 0.36 goals and 0.80 points per game
Nylander's 19 career playoff goals are tied for 15th all-time on the Leafs.
With Matthews' status uncertain for Game 7, the Leafs may still need one more game from him, one big overall game.
“We all know Willie is a guy who has come through in the playoffs for us,” Keefe said, “and found a way.”
(Photo: Mark Brinch/NHLI via Getty Images)