'Ice in his veins': Playoff hockey suits Nylander
Published
The Maple Leafs held a media availability at Ford Performance Centre before flying to Florida on Thursday.
---
William Nylander has racked up five goals and seven points in the last three games. During this hot streak he's worn the same beige suit to the rink each night.
"It's just the one that's in the front right now," the Leafs winger said with a smile.
Nylander didn't commit to wearing it to Game 3 against the Florida Panthers on Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.
"I don't know," he said. "We'll see."
The truth is Nylander has never seemed like the superstitious type. Whatever suit he's wearing, the 29-year-old always feels comfortable in his own skin.
"I learned nothing gets to him," said first year Leafs coach Craig Berube. "He doesn't feel pressure and, I could be wrong, but this is what I see. There's no stage too big for this guy. Like, he thrives on this stuff, in my opinion, and he looks forward to it and he wants to be in all those critical situations. When he smells something, he's there."
The latest example came on Wednesday as Nylander scored a beautiful goal off the rush in the second period to tie Game 2 against the Panthers 2-2. The Leafs went on to win 4-3 and grab a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
"That goal is as high-end as it can get with hands," Berube gushed.
Nylander received a pass from Max Pacioretty off his skate and directed it to his stick before flipping the puck over Sergei Bobrovsky to score his team leading sixth goal of the playoffs. With 13 points, Nylander is tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for second in playoff scoring ahead of Thursday's games.
"He's just got ice in his veins, it seems," said Leafs winger Steven Lorentz. "He goes out, it's like the biggest game of his life, and he just performs. It's great to see him deliver and we need it. He's playing some great hockey."
Since the start of the 2021 playoffs, Nylander leads the Leafs with 21 goals and 41 points in 37 postseason games. Auston Matthews is second with 13 goals while Mitch Marner is second with 39 points.
What's the best part of playing with Nylander? Pacioretty paused to consider the question.
"Lost for words because there's so many words [to] describe it," the veteran winger said with a smile. "He's just all over it every night, always in a good spot. Just works insanely hard and that
often gets overlooked because you're blown away by his skill. He's playing really, really good hockey right now."
The Panthers certainly haven't found a solution for Nylander.
"His ability to control the puck, change angles, and change directions is elite," coach Paul Maurice said prior to Wednesday's game. "There may not be anybody better than he is."
Florida's bench boss then compared Nylander to Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.
"Different but similar in how he can get a puck off the wall to somebody open a whole bunch of different ways," Maurice noted.
While Maurice game plans to take away space from Nylander, Berube is giving the swaggering Swede as much space as he can.
"He doesn't want me to talk to him so leave him alone," Berube said to laughs on Wednesday night. "I probably should just leave him alone."
The coach kids.
"We have a good relationship, talk a lot and stuff," Berube added on Thursday.
Right now, though, there's not much to say.
"He's doing a great job for us producing and working," Berube said. "Doing all the right things."
---
Berube did not have an update on the condition of Anthony Stolarz.
"I haven't seen him today yet," the coach said.
Asked if the injured goalie would travel with the team on Thursday, Berube said it was doubtful.
Minutes later, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun confirmed that Stolarz, who left Game 1 after taking a forearm to the head from Sam Bennett, would not be travelling.
"As expected," LeBrun said. "What I'm being told is that he's following the steps in his protocol. We're looking at, at least seven days here in terms of his recovery from a head injury, and from there it's hard to predict when he'll be back or when he'll feel ready. He's not skated yet so it makes no sense to put him on a plane, obviously."
Stolarz vomited at the bench before leaving Monday's game. He was taken to hospital for evaluation before rejoining the team for breakfast on Tuesday.
"The bottom line for Stolarz, you don't know if he'll be back again in this series," LeBrun said.
Stolarz led the NHL in save percentage (.926 in 34 games) in the regular season and started the first seven playoff games for the Leafs.
---
Joseph Woll stopped 25 of 28 shots to pick up the win on Wednesday.
"Very calm and cool in net, I thought," Berube observed. "The pucks are coming to the net all the time playing Florida so he was on his toes and fighting through traffic and making the saves that are needed. Very impressed with him."
Defenceman Morgan Rielly handed Woll the game puck in the dressing room after the game.
"Patch great night, Willy, Mitch big goal, but our guy all year, Joe!" Rielly said to big cheers.
Woll led the Leafs with 41 starts and 27 wins in the regular season while posting a .909 save percentage.
"We have so much confidence in either goalie," said Marner. "Joe just comes in with such a calming presence. Just his preparation before games, during games ...There's never any worry with either guy in net. Joe showed it again why he's one of the best."
Woll was making his first start since the regular season finale on April 17.
"It's been something I've had to focus on and come up with a plan to stay ready as well as I can," the 26-year-old said. "It's a different challenge than playing every night, but a challenge nonetheless. I think I've done what I've needed to do to prepare to be in the spot."
---
Bobrovsky has allowed nine goals on 50 shots in the series and hasn't looked like the same goalie that backstopped the Panthers to a Stanley Cup last year.
"Our confidence in him is never wavering," Panthers winger Sam Reinhart told reporters on Thursday. "We feel we got the best goalie in the world back there and our job is to make it as easy as possible on him and I think we can do a better job of that."
In the immediate aftermath of the loss, defenceman Aaron Ekblad pointed out Bobrovsky is capable of entering "God mode."
The Leafs are expecting a bounce back from Bobrovsky in Game 3.
"It's not going to last," Pacioretty said. "We know that. He's one of the best goalies in the league. We've got to make life hard on him as the series goes on. Two games obviously doesn't mean anything, especially when it comes to a goaltender like that that's had success for so long."
What is Maurice seeing from the two-time Vezina Trophy winner?
"I didn't love his first game," the coach said. "Up until the fourth one [on Wednesday], I don't look at him for any of the first three. We didn't give up a tremendous amount, but the danger on the rush is significant. The goalie is going to be fine."
---
The fourth goal that Maurice mentioned came on the shift after the Panthers tied the game in the third period. Marner fired a puck from the side boards that went off the post and into the net. Matthew Knies was creating a disturbance in front.
"Lucky enough I threw a puck on the end and went in," said Marner.
It was Marner's first goal since becoming a dad. He and wife Stephanie welcomed a son, Miles Daniel Marner, into the world on Sunday.
"It's been a whirlwind to say the least," Marner said. "It's been a really exciting time in my house with my wife and I and our families just with the excitement of our newborn. My wife's been an absolute beast through this whole process, letting me get my sleep and then really taking the reins on our newborn. It's been a special moment. It's a pretty special feeling scoring that goal for sure."
Marner, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Monday, has written the letter 'M' for Miles at the top of all his sticks. What does he feel when he sees it during the heat of these playoff games?
"Just calmness," he said. "I'm trying to play for him. It's a cool thing to see during games and just calm myself down and, you know, just take a deep breath and just relax and go out there and try to do my thing."
Wednesday's goal marked the first time Marner scored a go-ahead goal in the third period of a playoff game.
---
The Leafs are struggling to contain Florida's third line, which features veteran Brad Marchand beside Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. All three players have a goal and two assists in the two games of the series.
Marchand scored his first goal of the playoffs on Wednesday.
"He's such a competitor," said Reinhart. "He's looking to make a difference every shift he's out there. I think that shows."
"Brad's got a highly unusual set of hands," said Maurice. "Really gifted, skilled player to make some of those small-area inside plays."
Berube started the series by matching the Scott Laughton line against the Lundell line before switching to the John Tavares line to start Game 2. He had to go back to Laughton midway through Wednesday's game.
The coach identified Marchand as the straw that stirs the drink on that line.
"He has the ability to extend plays with his skill and his strength," Berube noted. "He can make plays, and he's good at it. He's a gamer, so I think him added to that line makes that line very dangerous."
Marchand, who was traded by the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline, is playing his fifth playoff series against the Leafs. He has produced 32 points in the playoffs against Toronto, which is fourth all-time behind only Henri Richard (33), Alex Delvecchio (35) and Gordie Howe (53).
---
Leafs lines in Game 2:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
Pacioretty - Tavares - Nylander
Lorentz - Laughton - Jarnkrok
McMann - Domi - Holmberg
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Woll starts
Murray