The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the come-from-behind win, trouncing the Oilers 6-1 in the games last half.
Despite some bad refereeing and a nice performance from Connor McDavid, the Toronto Maple Leafs destroyed the Oilers in a game that the score made look a lot closer than it actually was.
Before watching the game later on tape, I tuned in accidentally during a pause in our movie and in about a two-minute span I saw William Nylander ring a puck off the post, then the crossbar. I don’t know what the odds of tuning in briefly to see the same player hit the post twice, but they can’t be good.
He would later score his 34th goal of the year to tie his career high.
Toronto Maple Leafs Superstar Ties Career High
With 17 games left to play, Nylander has tied his career high with 34 goals, and is only two off his career mark in points with 78.
45 goals and 100 points are not out of the question for the Leafs co-second best player.
William Nylander is 18th in the NHL with 18 5v5 goals, but he has the lowest individual shooting percentage of any player ahead of him.
Nylander is 13th in overall goals, and other than Jack Highest and Alex Ovechkin, everyone ahead of him also has a lower shooting percentage.
Nylander’s 78 points put him 13th overall in the points race.
More impressive is that the Leafs win his 5v5 by 63%, a top 20 mark in the entire league.
His 56% Expected Goals Rating is impressive.
Nylander is top ten in scoring chances for per 60 minutes of ice time, and 5th overall in dangerous chances per minute.
Considering how many dangerous chances he produces, if he was a bit luckier, he’d easily be flirting with a 50 goal season and be near the top of the league in 5v5 scoring.
It always worth remembering that every single so called expert wanted to trade him for guys like Josh Manson and Nick Ritchie. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
William Nylander is the crown jewel in the cap of the NHL’s best current General Manager and the #1 reason that GM deserves a lifetime extension to his contact.
If he gets hot, maybe he can hit 100 points – it’s highly unlikely, but what is not uniquely is that Nylander goes down as one of the single greatest players to ever wear the blue and white – ahead of guys like Gilmour and Clark.
The only thing sweeter is how angry some people will be when that happens.