Nylander, playing with John Tavares and Max Pacioretty dominated against the previously undefeated Winnipeg club.
WINNIPEG — All William Nylander needed was a bit of a different look.
The Toronto Maple Leafs star forward was given new linemates on Monday and the Swede exploded for a goal and two assists to snap out of a three-game pointless drought to hand the Winnipeg Jets their first loss of the season, a 6-4 decision in Toronto's favor.
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Reunited with center John Tavares while playing with Max Pacioretty for the first time in his career, Nylander's new line drove much of the club's play at Canada Life Centre.
Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube hinted that a change could be coming to after he got the sense that frustration was starting to creep into Nylander's game. Berube took forwards Max Domi and Bobby McMann, and replaced them with Tavares and Pacioretty.
The result was a trio that looked like it had been playing for years.
"I think the line that we had before, we had a good go together and making a lot of plays, Nylander said. "We weren't getting clear looks and stuff in the past couple games, so sometimes the switch-up is good. I thought both lines I've been on have been playing really well."
Pacioretty helped Nylander get out of his scoring funk early by finding him wide open in the slot while battling for the puck in front of the net.
In the 11:19 of 5-on-5 ice time they played together, the trio scored four times while not allowing one. They also had an expected-goals share of 88 percent, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Tavares record a hat trick with his empty-netter that secured the game for Toronto and staved off comeback attempted from the previous undefeated Jets. All four of Winnipeg's goals came by some man-advantage, whether it be on the power-play or a 6-on-5 derived from a delayed penalty or goal that brought the game to 5-3.
Tavares and Pacioretty already had some chemistry having playing together for some a stretch on the team's third line, but it's evident, they were missing something, too.
Nylander's addition to the line brought out the best in all three players who were in need of a spark.
"He's going to get into spots where it's obvious to get him the puck. You want to give it to him because, obviously, he makes pretty good plays with it," Tavares said of Nylander. "It's not that you force the issue, but you know that he's just got the instincts to be in the right spots at the right times and take advantage of open ice and challenge defenders, challenge the opponents the way that he can. That obviously leads to offense."
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At the end of the day. Nylander was playing with players who can get him the puck on a more consistent basis, while in return, he brough the best out of players who have, in the past, been consistent point producers in the NHL.
It was a natural fit, it just took the 10th of the season to try it.
"He had good puck touches tonight, which I talked about the other day. But he wasn't getting those puck touches," Berube said of Nylander after the game. "He got more puck touches tonight. When he gets puck touches, he's a dangerous player."