Nylander got a four minute penalty when his stick rode by Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt and hit him in the face.
Nylander got a four minute penalty when his stick rode by Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt and hit him in the face.
TAMPA — Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander avoided supplemental discipline when he was assessed a double minor penalty for high-sticking Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt in the face.
The penalties came as the Leafs were down 3-1 late in the third period as the club went on to lose 5-1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.
"I didn't obviously mean to do that," Nylander said following practice on Thursday. "I think what happened was he came to kind of box me out. And I wanted to box him out back and got him high, obviously. Didn't mean to do that to him. But, yeah."
While Nylander avoided the wrath of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube certainly wasn't happy with third-period penalties that severely hampered their comeback efforts and communicated that to his star forward.
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"I say stuff. You've got to have better control of your stick. And to me, there was no reason for it to happen. He should have just worked his way to the net without even being near the guy," Berube said. "Things happen. You're not in their body. You don't know what they're thinking at the time. So, we have to all be better."
Conor Timmins had the other Leafs penalty in the third period that Berube did not like. It was one of two penalties on the night for the defenseman. Despite that, it appears the defenseman will remain in the lineup when the club visits the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
"I thought we took some needless penalties in that game that cost us," Berube said. You take six minutes in the third period and you're down 3-1, it's going to be tough. It's making it really difficult to come back in the game."
A suspension to the Nylander would have been disastrous to team that is going through a massive amount of injuries at the forward position. But with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies set to return, help is certainly on the way. All Berube asks for is to stay disciplined.