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Why William Nylander is an early Conn Smythe frontrunner

The Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off their second-round series with a statement win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, thanks in large part to a dominant first-period performance from William Nylander.
ByMax Mezo|
May 5, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (88) celebrates his first of two goals as Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues (17) reacts during the first period of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
May 5, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (88) celebrates his first of two goals as Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues (17) reacts during the first period of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

We might have just watched the first game where we can believe a Toronto Maple Leafs player is going to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for the first time since Dave Keon in 1967.

Monday night's Game 1 win against the Florida Panthers in round two of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs puts the Toronto Maple Leafs three wins away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2002.

If the Leafs manage to get past the defending cup champs and advance to the Eastern Conference for the first time in 23 years, William Nylander's Game 1 performance on Monday night will be looked at as a pivotal performance to propel this Leafs team to the third round. It will also be added towards consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy if his team manages to make it to the final.

Nylander didn't waste any time getting his team on the score sheet as he beat Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky 33 seconds into the game, which is the second-fastest goal this playoffs, only behind Dallas Stars forward Wyatt Johnston's goal in Game 5 that beat Colorado Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood nine seconds into the game.

 Nylander wasn't done there either, as he scored a beautiful goal in tight to beat Bobrovsky for the second time in the first period. 

Later in the first period, he assisted Morgan Reilly's third goal of the playoffs, which gave Toronto a 3-1 lead heading into the second period. This stumped Florida's momentum, as Reilly's goal came shortly after Seth Jones's goal, which put the game at 2-1. 

Nylander's first-period performance in Game 1 tied a franchise record with the most points by a player in a single period. A mark achieved 18 times before. Nylander's first-period performance capped off probably one of Toronto's best first-period starts all season, where they imposed their physicality early, headlined by a reverse hit from Jake McCabe on Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. 

Toronto imposing themselves physically against the Panthers is saying something, as Florida ended the regular season with the most hits of any team, per MoneyPuck.com.

Time and Time Again Nylander Comes Up Big for the Leafs

Nylander's two-goal performance gives him four goals in the last two games. He scored two timely goals in Game 6 in round one to help put away the Ottawa Senators.

 Even more important to this Leaf team has been Nylander's ability to beat Bobrovsky. He now has goals in each of his last four playoff games against the Panthers, dating back to the last time these two teams met in the second round of the 2023 playoffs. This includes a late third-period goal in Game 5 that extended the game into overtime.

Every playoffs, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the player who had the greatest impact to their team, and you can say what you want about Nylander being an enigma at times, but his tendency to come up clutch for the Leafs is continuing to show, and Monday night was another example of that.

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