ST. CATHARINES - Brothers William and Alexander Nylander have played hockey all their lives. But until Thursday night, when the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Buffalo Sabres, they had never battled each other on the ice. Only with mini sticks in their basement.

“I guess it’s [about] time to face each other,” William said after Thursday’s morning skate. “No friends anymore.”

There’s no love lost between the Maple Leafs and Sabres, who played the first of back-to-back preseason games on Thursday at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines. It ended in a 1-0 loss for Toronto in a shootout, dropping them to 0-2 in the preseason. But it gave the Nylanders a first taste of what could one day become a regular tradition.

When Alex was drafted sixth overall by the Sabres in June, a rivalry that had sputtered in recent years as both teams underwent painful rebuilds was suddenly poised to reignite. It was in the 2014 draft that Toronto picked William eighth overall, giving the Atlantic Division opponents potential franchise cornerstones from the same family in close succession.

“I think [our mom] would wear a half-Toronto, half-Buffalo jersey,” William joked about the sibling competition. “That was a fun part of the draft [being with Alex], it’s something you’ll always remember. I think he’s developed in every way possible. He’s grown a lot too. Every aspect of him is improving.”

Alex, 18, had the better of his older brother through the first period, during which Toronto managed just five shots and the siblings never shared a shift. But when the second period started, William, 20, and Alex were both lined up at centre ice for their first professional competition.

“It was fun. We’ve never played against each other before, so it was a fun experience for sure,” William said. “Too bad we couldn’t get the win though. We didn’t really talk too much on the ice. We were just focused on our game.”

Flanked by Matt Martin and Zach Hyman, Nylander played better as his first preseason game went on. He began asserting himself more in the neutral zone and utilizing some of the space created by his linemates.

“I think we came more to our game we were supposed to play, get the puck in their zone and work their defence,” he said. “We created more chances that way and I think it showed on the shot clock. [Martin]’s a big guy. Having him out there, if you see someone on the other team coming at you, they might think twice about that.”

Coach Jim Hiller, filling in for Mike Babcock, was honest about his team’s first period struggles but thought Nylander’s line built on the foundation he had seen coming along in training camp practices.

“They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone [tonight]. Hyman and Martin are kind of in the corner and Willy is making plays,” Hiller said. “So there’s a good mix on that line. They complement each other well.”

Nylander, who says he and Alex are in touch most days and train together in the offseason, likely won’t see each other again in Friday’s re-match between their clubs. But they both may be getting a call from their father, former NHLer Michael Nylander, about his opinions on their debuts.

“I don’t know what he would tell us right now,” William said with a smile. “We’ll have to wait and see what he says.”


Takeaways

- Seeing his first preseason action, Garret Sparks had a stellar showing in net, stopping all 17 shots he faced. Buffalo applied heavy pressure early in the first period, outshooting Toronto 11-4, and it was Sparks’ timely saves that kept the game from getting out of hand early. Although Sparks got the start for Toronto, the PA announcer misidentified him as Kasimir Kaskisuo, who would replace Sparks in net with 7:31 left in the second frame. Kaskisuo was similarly great, turning away 21 shots through regulation and overtime. He stopped the first three shots of the shootout until Matt Moulson finally solved him for the win.

- In a mostly uninspiring game offensively for Toronto, forward Zach Hyman’s spark stood out. Beyond being a skilled skater with top-notch speed, Hyman uses it to drive the net and work for those secondary scoring opportunities. Playing on a top line for Toronto with Nylander and Martin, his physical presence along the boards and in forcing turnovers gave the Leafs a needed edge. After playing 16 games for the Maple Leafs last season, recording six points (four goals, two assists), Hyman is making his case for more work in the NHL this season.

- After a penalty-filled first preseason game against the Ottawa Senators, Toronto’s penalty kill was tested again against the Sabres but performed well. In an early 5-on-3 kill, Frederik Gauthier and Victor Loov had critical shot blocks to hold Buffalo at bay for 1:12. “The first period wasn’t good for us, let’s be honest,” Hiller said. “But I thought we really regrouped and then I thought we got really competitive the last two periods and that [5-on-3 kill] was one of those times when you’ve got to get in front of some shots and we did that, everyone went in front of shots to block.”

- After being tossed from Monday’s preseason game early for fighting Andreas Englund, forward Kerby Rychel had a quietly solid night playing with Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland. Generating more zone time in the second half and putting more pucks on net, the line really started to gel.