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Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander entered this season with a huge question mark. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. During camp, speculation swirled concerning Nylander’s performance. Would his play justify his contract demands?
William Nylander hit the ground running. He quickly silenced critics who claimed he wasn't worth his demands. By the time Nylander and the Leafs closed in on an extension, the former first-round pick had 54 points in 37 games. Nylander had emerged as a dominant force in the Leafs’ lineup.
For much of the year, Nylander had prolonged point streaks. During this season, the Leafs’ winger notched a 17-game and 12-game point streak, giving him the fourth and thirteenth longest streaks in club history. During his longest streak, he racked up 27 points.
But over the last 11 games, Nylander’s scoring touch has seemingly dried up. He was on pace to net well over 100 points. He ended with an impressive 97. But should Nylander’s current drought be of concern to the Leafs?
On the whole, yes. The Leafs will face the Boston Bruins in the first round. The Bruins are a hard-checking team that knows how to shut down the opposition’s best players. The Leafs will need players like Nylander to step up and provide secondary scoring when stars like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner struggle to score.
Nylander has a few days to regroup for game one in Boston. He will need to show up with his A-game if the Leafs hope to win a playoff series against the Bruins for the first time since 1959.
William Nylander is a playoff performer
William Nylander has consistently stepped up for the Leafs during the playoffs. He had 10 points in 11 games last season. The year before that, he notched seven points in seven games. He also contributed eight points in seven games in 2021-22.
Nylander has been on par with superstar teammate Auston Matthews. Matthews registered 11 points in 11 games during last year’s playoffs.
With that sort of track record, William Nylander can perform when his team needs him the most. He’ll need to recalibrate his game in order to give the Leafs the secondary scoring needed to support Matthews and playmaking whiz Mitch Marner.
The Leafs hope Nylander can shake off the last 11 games as the club looks to avenge their 2019 loss to the Bruins. However, the Bruins have dominated the Leafs this season series 4-0. In particular, the Bruins notched back-to-back 4-1 wins in the teams’ last two matchups.
