Maple Leafs forward battled serious illness before and during Game 1
If William Nylander looked off during Game 1, it's for good reason. According to TSN Insider, Chris Johnston, William Nylander wasn't feeling 100% for Game 1.
For all Nylander looked pretty good out there in the 5-0 blow out win. He showed good speed on two breakaway occasions but couldn't score on Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Nylander had four shots on goal, one hit, and one block in 15:36 of ice time.
Nylander had a career year this year. He had 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points in 81 games.
Nylander seems to always be the whipping boy for the Maple Leaf fan base. When you break down the numbers he has been the best play off performer out of the core.
In nine playoff games since 2019-20, Nylander is tied for first in team scoring with Auston Matthews at nine points, though Nylander has accomplished that feat in nearly 50 fewer minutes. The Swede also leads the team in goals by a wide margin with six, while Matthews trails in second at just three. If we go back to 2018-19, Nylander sits second in scoring with 12 points, trailing Matthews by three despite playing 75 fewer minutes. Go all the way back to 2016-17, the core's first playoff run, and Nylander leads all current Leafs in even strength scoring with 17 points.
Hopefully Nylander chooses a safer option for lunch today.
| POLL | ||
Who will will game 2? | ||
| Leafs | 171 | 48.2 % |
| Lightning | 184 | 51.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
