Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman Victor Mete skates after being out nearly two months with a lower-body injury. William Nylander received a ‘star’ recognition from the NHL on Monday, it just wasn’t of the All-Star variety. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward was named the NHL’s second star of the week for the period ending Jan. 29 after scoring four goals and adding three assists in his last four games. Nylander recorded two goals and two assists in the second period of a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders Jan. 23. Nylander then picked up his 400th career point (in his 488th NHL game) with an assist in a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers Jan. 25. He finished the week with one goal in each of his last two outings, a 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators Jan. 27 and a 5-1 triumph over the Washington Capitals Jan. 29. The 26-year-old Nylander, who established career highs in goals (34), assists (46) and points (80) last season leads Toronto and ranks 14th in the NHL with 59 through 51 total games in 2022-23 including leading the team in goals with 28. Despite his torrid season, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews were the only Leafs named and voted to the NHL All-Star Game, which takes place in South Florida next week. Matthews will not take part after he sustained a knee injury last week. Florida's Aleksander Barkov was named as Matthews' replacement for the event.
