The Toronto Maple Leafs improved to 22-0-0 when scoring four goals in a game with the club’s 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night – earning their second straight win and sweeping games in Alberta.
Yet that wasn’t the stat of the night. Instead, the night belonged to William Nylander.
The 28-year-old secured his second career NHL hat trick and his first since February 4, 2017 – exactly eight years ago in a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
“Oh really? That’s wild,” Nylander told TSN’s Mark Masters in a one-on-one on the broadcast post-game.
Nylander later added that he had “no clue” of the correlating dates regarding the milestone.
Regardless, it was a full-circle moment for the star winger. Back then, Nylander was just in his first full season with the Leafs, a promising young forward still finding his footing in the league. Now, he’s one of the NHL’s top goal-scorers.
How does he plan to celebrate?
“I don’t know, just onto Seattle, maybe a day off tomorrow,” said Nylander.
His head coach, Craig Berube, was asked if that request might be granted.
“He likes days off. I’ll tell you that,” Berube joked post-game. “We’ll see. I’ll have a chat with him.”
UPDATE: Nylander got his wish with the club taking a full day off before their game against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday
But there was no questioning Nylander’s impact on the game, having his fingerprints all over the result as he picked up his first three goals ever at Scotiabank Saddledome and his 35th career multi-point game.
“He scores goals. He’s done a lot of good things. He’s got a lethal shot. We all know that,” Berube said. “He can hang on to pucks and cutbacks. Just the puck battles, like, that last goal is just a hard puck battle. Good job by him. The goalie is out, (he) sealed the game.”
The Swede took advantage of his opportunities, showcasing his elite shooting abilities and pinpoint accuracy before winning a puck battle against Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar at the Maple Leafs’ blue line in the dying minutes and solidifying his third of the night into Calgary’s empty net.
“He makes it look easy every time, it’s crazy. Sometimes he just holds that shot or just finds those little spots just above the pad below the glove there and it makes it look easy, it’s nice to have,” said teammate Bobby McMann post-game.
However, even Nylander admitted he didn’t see the three-goal game coming.
“It was nice. I mean, I didn’t really expect that to happen maybe tonight. I mean, I’ve had a lot of other games where I had two goals and not been able to score,” he said. “It was nice that I finally got one.”
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What made it even more special for the player was that he completed the feat in Calgary, where he was born.
“Obviously, it’s super special,” said Nylander. “I mean, I’m born here and scoring my second career hat trick eight years after my first one. It’s pretty wild. So, yeah, those are special.”
“We have a huge, huge following. I mean, the support we got for our fans is tremendous, everywhere we play. So to see those hats come down is special,” he added.
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Nylander now has a team-leading 33 goals in 53 games, giving him sole possession of the second-most in the NHL behind only Leon Draisaitl (37). The Leafs play the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, their second-last game before a two-week break for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off where the forward will represent Team Sweden as an alternate captain.
Whether or not Nylander gets his requested day off remains to be seen, but he’s earned some type of praise with five goals in his last three games.
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