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The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially ended the regular season and William Nylander failed to make an impact for another game straight in their 6-4 defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nylander’s loss of form in the latter part of the regular season had been a cause for concern and HC Sheldon Keefe shared his take on the player’s late-season slump.
William Nylander's scoring has dried up in recent games, and his overall engagement on the ice has been questioned by fans. Despite his talent and potential, he's struggled to make an impact, ending the regular season without a goal in his last 11 games.
Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe has experimented with different line combinations to spark Nylander's performance. However, so far, the results have been disappointing. During the post-game presser of their last regular season game, Sheldon shared a few words on the star wing’s efforts on the ice.
"I think in the last week, Willy's sort of shown that he's done with regular-season hockey. He's ready to move along. But I'm not concerned about Willy," remarked Kefee.
The Leafs HC admitted Nylander has not been at his best in their last stretch of the regular season. However, Kefee also mentioned that he does not doubt the 27-year-old’s quality and is not worried about him.
Given Nylander’s past postseason performances, there's optimism that Nylander can regain his form and make a significant impact in the upcoming playoffs.
William Nylander’s consistency has been underwhelming this season
William Nylander has appeared in all 82 regular season games this year, and it would have been quite easy to pick him as one of the best players in the earlier half of the season. His 40 goals, 58 assists, and a plus-minus of +1 in the regular season have been laudable from a statistical standpoint. However, the problem has been his consistency, or lack thereof.
While Nylander has reached career milestones in goals and points this season, his effort levels have been inconsistent . There have been instances where he's seemed disinterested and out of position defensively. However, it needs to be noted that the 27-year-old has a knack for coming up big in the clutch moments, especially in the postseason.
The consensus among analysts is that pairing him with skilled teammates like John Tavares on a strong second line could be the key to unlocking his dominance. If William Nylander can find his rhythm and contribute consistently, the Maple Leafs stand to make a much stronger case for a possible Stanley Cup title-winning campaign this year.
