Nylander scored the third and fifth goal — and even had a roughing penalty — in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.
Nylander scored the third and fifth goal — and even had a roughing penalty — in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.
Auston Matthews might've been the star of the show while in Arizona on Wednesday night, but William Nylander wasn't far behind him.
The now-four-time 30-goal scorer had a massive game, finding the back of the net twice, with each goal inching the Maple Leafs further ahead against the Coyotes. One of those goals came in the third period after Nylander flew out of the penalty box and capitalized on a breakaway.
"I'm not going to lie, I was thinking when I sat in the box before the third period started thinking I might get a breakaway," Nylander said following the game before bursting into laughter.
Why was he thinking that?
"I don't know, it just happened," he added. "We'll take it."
Maybe there was a bit of manifestation involved?
"I don't know, I just sat there," Nylander said, "I was feeling a breakaway coming, so I don't know. It is what it is."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o7OPnRsA2Q[/embed]
This wasn't an ordinary game for Nylander, though. While he might've scored two big goals for Toronto, another part of his game also came to light: His physicality.
More often than not, the 27-year-old chooses not to engage with his opponents during scrums after the whistle. And at this point in his career, it felt like this missing part was just Nylander being Nylander.
However, that wasn't the case on Wednesday night under the bright lights inside Mullett Arena.
It began in the second period as Nylander lurked around the Coyotes' net for a scoring chance. As he skated by defenseman Sean Durzi, he was met with a shove to the back, signalling Nylander to move away from the net.
That started a big scrum, though it wouldn't be the last time Nylander and Durzi met in the game. A couple of minutes later, Nylander fires a shot on net, and as Coyotes' netminder Karel Vejmelka makes the stop, Durzi bumps his shoulder into the Maple Leafs' forward, causing a ruckus.
This was a new side of Nylander that we haven't witnessed much. There might've been spurts where he would give a shove after a whistle, but not to this degree. Even when fans got a glimpse of this style of play from Nylander, they were elated.
When asked on Wednesday night about the uptick in physicality, Nylander was brief, saying: "It's fun," with a huge smile.
He added that it was great to see Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi come in to help out after the first incident with Durzi.
"They stick up for me, and I'll stick up for them in situations like that."
Whether this part of Nylander's game will remain is yet to be seen. But for fans, management, and everyone who watches the Maple Leafs, a feisty Nylander could be a fascinating player for Toronto.
"It was competitive, good to see Willy push back a little bit there, stand his ground," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Wednesday night.
"Huge moment, a huge goal for us. It's interesting how it works out. [Nylander] goes into the box because he was looking for a breakaway when we were shorthanded and ends up getting a breakaway coming out, so he gets the goal back. that we gave up at the end of the second period.
"That was a big moment in the game for us for sure."
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