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Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander to zero in on ending scoring drought – TSN

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4 years ago

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William Nylander


TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters reports on the Maple Leafs. The Leafs and Oilers skated in Edmonton on Thursday morning. 

The two games between the Leafs and Oilers last week didn’t produce the offensive fireworks many expected, but Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl still all found a way to put the puck in the net. 

Now, William Nylander wants in on the fun. 

“I’ve been looking to pass in certain situations where I should definitely get a shot on goal so that’s something to keep in mind and something I got to do better,” said Nylander, who hasn’t scored since potting two on opening night. 

This seven-game drought already matches Nylander’s longest dry spell from last season (Dec. 3-17, 2019). He does have five assists, including a highlight-reel helper against the Oilers last Friday. 

“I was thinking shoot the entire time and then I saw [Jimmy Vesey] coming down and I saw the goalie came out pretty hard, too, so that’s why I passed,” Nylander explained. “Was lucky the D [Slater Koekkoek] didn’t get a piece of the puck there. I like making plays, but I want to start scoring some goals too.”

Nylander exploded for a career-best 31 goals in 68 games last season. And he showed off his powerful shot by blasting a pair of pucks past Carey Price on Jan. 13.

“The way the season started for Will in terms of how he shot the puck and just took that initiative whether it’s the one timer off the faceoff against Montreal or stepping in on the power play and putting it under the bar, those were really good signs in terms of what he’s capable of,” said coach Sheldon Keefe. “We haven’t seen as much of that. It’s not all on Will. In some cases the line hasn’t provided those opportunities, but with his abilities we expect him to get on the inside more and attack the net more and generate more looks himself. We’re also trying to find a little more consistency in the way the line attacks and the way he and John play off each other.”

Nylander pointed out that his line hasn’t generated enough offensive-zone time of late. 

“After the first shot, get the puck back,” Nylander said of the necessary mindset. “We’re second on the retrievals where they’re able to get the puck out of the zone and we got to start over again.”

Keefe moved Ilya Mikheyev onto the line with Tavares and Nylander on Tuesday. 

“We played a little bit together up until when Micky got injured last year and were able to click very good together so I think that’s going to be good for us,” Nylander said. “We have to get the second pucks back and adding speed on the line will help us get those pucks back.”

Nylander wants to score more, trying to find passing vs. shooting balance

With his shots on goal numbers down so far this season, William Nylander explains that he’s been looking to pass lately, but knows he needs to do a better job of shooting more in hopes of finding the back of the net more often.

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Nylander needs to steal a page from Marner’s playbook. The winger has adopted more of a shooting mentality this season and delivered the game-winning goal on Tuesday night. 

“A great shot and it was from far out, too, so definitely he’s improved on his shot,” said linemate Zach Hyman.

Marner received a pass from Matthews in the high slot and one-timed it past Jacob Markstrom. 

“I’ve really been working on that shot with Mats,” Marner revealed. “If I can try and find that spot more I know Mats can find me there. For me, it was just trying to get it off my stick quickly and on net for a chance for a rebound or something for Hymie or to go in which it did. I’m trying to get more of a shot mentality, try to be more of a threat.”

Marner, who had six shots on net in the last two games against the Flames, put on some muscle in the off-season while also changing the flex of his stick to try and transform his shot from muffin to missile. 

“It’s underrated,” said goalie Frederik Andersen. “He’s good at picking spots and being pretty elusive and tricky a little bit with where he’s going to go and that’s something he’s really good at. He wants to be more than an incredible passer and playmaker. I know he wants to add to his game and he’s done that.”

Leafs’ Marner uses ‘underrated’ shot to climb scoring list

Mitch Marner potted his fifth goal of the season on Tuesday night beating Jacob Markstrom with a one-timer from distance. The Leafs winger revealed that changing the flex of his stick has helped turn his shot into more of a weapon this season. “He’s good at picking spots and being pretty elusive and tricky,” observed goalie Frederik Andersen. “I think it’s underrated.”

Usually it’s Matthews who’s the finisher on Toronto’s top line. Since the start of last season Marner has assisted on 26 of Matthews’ goals. But now the Marner shot is something the opposition needs to be wary of. 

“It adds an aspect to his game,” said Koekkoek. “If a guy is pass-first, then you’re looking around before you get to him and when he starts shooting the puck more it’s obviously dangerous and something we have to take note of here.”

And that makes handling Matthews, already a daunting task, even harder. 

“One thing he does specifically well is pull and drag where he really changes the angle of his shot,” said Koekkoek. “Like, when I go down to block a shot I’m kind of reading his blade or reading where the guy is trying to shoot it so when he pulls it back like that and you’re already committed to a block it’s really tough to defend.”

How will Oilers handle Marner’s new shot mentality?

With five goals in the first eight games of the season, Mitch Marner has developed a shoot-first mentality, which has been paying off. The Oilers discuss the challenges of adjusting defensively to contain Marner’s new goal-scoring prowess.

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The Leafs, meanwhile, will have their hands full trying to contain McDavid, who is tied with Marner for the NHL’s scoring lead with 12 points. You can’t take a second off against the Oilers captain. 

“I would say his ability to maintain his pace later on in the shift,” said Hyman when asked if there was an underrated part of McDavid’s game. “You can be hemming the other team in the offensive zone and have a great shift against his line and then 45 seconds into the shift he still has the ability to get to his top speed and to maintain it so he’s always dangerous.”

There’s also nowhere on the ice where McDavid isn’t dangerous. He pulled off a buzzer-beating assist against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday from behind the net. 

“His playmaking ability is unbelievable,” noted Nylander. “The way he makes plays in the O-zone and behind the goal line catching guys is unbelievable.”

And while much is made of Marner wanting to shoot more, it’s McDavid who leads all NHLers in shots on net this season with 35. That is his highest total ever through his first eight games of a season. 

“He gets into situations where he [can] shoot the puck probably more than any player in the league,” noted Draisaitl. “He’s got a great shot and he’s using it and obviously it shows.”

McDavid finished 23rd in shots last season. 

Leafs offer insight on McDavid’s underrated attributes

Although defending against Connor McDavid’s elite speed is typically the focal point for the Leafs, the team offers insight to other underrated attributes the Oilers captain possesses that make him so tough to slow down.

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Toronto won only 10 of its 25 one-goal games during the 2019-20 season, matching Detroit (10) for the fewest such wins. But the Leafs are 4-0-0 in one-goal games so far this season. The other two wins in their column this season came by two goals with an empty netter tacked on.

“Being in those tight games and being able to close out those games has definitely been an improvement,” Hyman said.

The Leafs weren’t at their best despite sweeping two games in Calgary earlier this week. The first win on Sunday was described by multiple players as “ugly” with credit given to Jack Campbell for stealing the two points. After an incredible first period, Toronto held on during the final 40 minutes on Tuesday. So, there are plenty of things to clean up, but the fact they walked away with the wins is a sign of progress. 

“We talked about it after the game,” said defenceman Justin Holl. “These are character wins and they’re positive for a team finding its way, but I don’t think we’ve really touched how good we can be. We’re not rolling yet.”

‘Character wins’ help Leafs get off to hot start

All six of Toronto’s wins have come by one goal or by two goals with an empty netter. “These are character wins and they’re positive for a team finding its way,” said defenceman Justin Holl. The Leafs are looking to tighten up defensively this season and the group is still getting used to Sheldon Keefe’s system. “I don’t think we’ve really touched how good we can be,” added Holl. “We’re not rolling yet.”

—

With Mike Smith still sidelined, Mikko Koskinen makes his ninth straight start for the Oilers.

“He says he’s feeling strong physically, mentally,” said coach Dave Tippett. “We’re trying to make sure he gets enough rest in between games  but so far so good.”

With Campbell sidelined weeks with a leg injury, the Leafs are likely to ride Andersen for the foreseeable future. These next two games were likely earmarked for Andersen anyway. The Dane is a perfect 6-0-0 with a .928 save percentage in Edmonton during his NHL career. 

Nylander looking to find his offence; Is Koskinen’s workload a concern?

Mark Masters and Ryan Rishaug join SportsCentre to discuss what has to change for William Nylander to find the back of the net more, what the keys will be for the Oilers to defend the Leafs’ offensive firepower tonight, and if Mikko Koskinen’s workload is becoming a concern.

​—

Projected Leafs lines for Thursday’s game in Edmonton: 

Forwards

Hyman – Matthews – Marner
Mikheyev – Tavares – Nylander
Vesey – Kerfoot – Simmonds
Barabanov – Spezza – Boyd

Defence

Rielly – Brodie
Muzzin – Holl
Dermott – Bogosian

Goalies

Andersen starts 
Hutchinson 

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NHL roundup: Hurricanes beat Flyers 6-4 for seventh straight win

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November 6, 2024

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Martin Necas scored a go-ahead goal with 29 seconds left and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-4 on Tuesday night.

It was the seventh straight win for the Hurricanes, who also got goals from Jack Roslovic, Jordan Martinook, Eric Robinson and Jackson Blake. Seth Jarvis added an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Necas typically saves his game-winners for overtime, with nine in his career, but he was able to take care of business in regulation with his team-best seventh goal of the season.

Travis Konecny scored two goals and had two assists for the Flyers. Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia.

Aleksei Kolosov made 28 saves for the Flyers, who trailed 2-1, 3-1 and 4-3 but kept coming back. Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov struggled in net allowing four goals on just 16 shots.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Tuesday:

—

SABRES 5 SENATORS 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bowen Byram and Tage Thompson scored 16 seconds apart to open the third period, and Buffalo snapped a three-game skid with a win over Ottawa.

Byram scored twice, JJ Peterka had two goals and an assist and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 37 saves.

Ridly Greig converted his own rebound in cutting Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 with 7:31 left in the second period. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves in dropping to 1-4 in his past five starts.

Buffalo went up 3-1 on Byram’s second goal 21 seconds into the third period. The defenceman’s shot from inside the blue line sneaked through Ullmark, with the puck rolling down the goalie’s pad, dropping into the crease and trickling across the line. Thompson scored when he crashed the net, was knocked over by defender Jake Sanderson and was lying in the crease when Alex Tuch’s shot went in off his shoulder.

—

MAPLE LEAFS 4 BRUINS 0

TORONTO (AP) — Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves for his first shutout of the season in Toronto’s 4-0 victory over Boston.

Morgan Rielly had a goal and two assists as Toronto connected three times on the power play. William Nylander and Matthew Knies added a goal and an assist each. Mitch Marner had two assists of his own. Steven Lorentz rounded out the scoring into the empty net.

The Leafs played without captain Auston Matthews, who is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Jeremy Swayman made 23 stops for Boston, which was coming off consecutive weekend shutouts of the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken.

Toronto’s porous 31st-ranked power play scored for the second time in as many games at 8:44 of the second period when Rielly fired through a screen. Nylander banked in his team-leading 10th goal of the season on another man advantage 1:14 later for a 2-0 lead.

The Bruins entered the game 8-0-0 in the regular season against their Atlantic Division rival dating back to Jan. 14, 2023.

—

FLAMES 3 CANADIENS 2 (OT)

MONTREAL (AP) — Matt Coronato scored twice as Calgary came back to defeat Montreal in overtime.

Coronato tied the game with 2:46 remaining in regulation when he cruised into the slot and went off the post and in. He then buried the winning goal seven seconds into the extra period.

Connor Zary also scored for Calgary, which won its second game in seven outings. Dustin Wolf stopped 21 shots.

Joel Armia — with a short-handed goal — and Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal (4-7-2). Armia also provided an assist, while Sam Montembeault made 32 saves as the Canadiens’ losing streak extended to four games.

Zary opened the scoring with his third 4:20 into the second period when he pounced on a loose puck in the slot and fired a shot past Montembeault.

Gallagher then slipped the puck between Wolf’s pads at 16:23 to level the score with his fifth of the season.

—

BLUES 3 LIGHTNING 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Kyrou, Alexey Toropchenko and Oskar Sundqvist scored to help St. Louis beat Tampa Bay 3-2.

Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for his 149th career win moving him past Jake Allen for second place in franchise history, just two wins behind Mike Liut’s 151.

Nick Perbix and Victor Hedman scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the Lightning who have lost three straight games.

Kyrou scored his fourth goal of the season 8:51 into the third period to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead.

Toropchenko scored his first goal of the season with 1:35 remaining in the second period to put St. Louis ahead 2-1 after Sundqvist tied the game with his first of the season 7:47 into the period.

—

ISLANDERS 4 PENGUINS 3 (SO)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored the only goal in a shootout and New York rallied past Pittsburgh 4-3.

New York goalie Ilya Sorokin denied Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang in the shootout and finished with 32 saves. Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who trailed 3-1 midway through the third period.

Simon Holmstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the third for New York. Horvat had two assists.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist to lead Pittsburgh. Crosby got his 598th career goal, and Michael Bunting also scored. Rakell added two assists.

Alex Nedeljkovich stopped 23 shots for the Penguins, who have lost seven of nine. They won their previous two following a six-game skid.

—

KINGS 5 WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Trevor Lewis scored twice, Kevin Fiala added another on the power play and Los Angeles beat Minnesota 5-1.

Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield also scored for Los Angeles, which was playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 3-0 win in Nashville a night earlier. David Rittich made 23 saves for the Kings.

Fiala, who was traded to Los Angeles in 2022 by Minnesota for a first-round pick draft pick and defenceman Brock Faber, scored his seventh goal of the season. He now has three goals and six assists in his last seven games against the Wild.

Minnesota, which had won three in a row, opened the scoring in the second period on Zach Bogosian’s first goal of the season. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots for the Wild.

—

JETS 3 UTAH 0

WINNIPEG, Man. (AP) — Nino Niederreiter scored twice in his 900th NHL career game and Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves to help Winnipeg defeat Utah 3-0.

It was Hellebuyck’s second shutout of the season and 39th of this career.

Gabriel Vilardi also scored for the Jets. Adam Lowry assisted on both goals by Niederreiter.

Utah ended a run of picking up points in three consecutive games (1-0-2).

Karel Vejmelka stopped 25 shots for Utah in its second stop on a four-game road trip.

Jets winger Kyle Connor had his franchise-record, season-opening points streak end at 12 games.

—

AVALANCHE 6 KRAKEN 3

DENVER (AP) — Arturri Lehkonen scored the go-ahead goal on a power play in his season debut and Nathan MacKinnon had five assists as Colorado beat Seattle 6-3.

Mikko Rantanen added two goals for the Avalanche, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Ivan Ivan, Nikolai Kovalenko and Chris Wagner also scored for Colorado.

Cale Makar had two assists but the star defenceman barely played in the second half of the game and appeared to be slowed by an apparent injury during a brief shift.

MacKinnon and Makar extended their season-opening point streaks to 13 games.

Lehkonen played for the first time since off-season shoulder surgery.

Jared McCann, Jaden Schwartz and Brandon Montour scored for the Kraken.

—

CANUCKS 5 DUCKS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brock Boeser, Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist apiece, and Quinn Hughes recorded his 300th career assist in Vancouver’s victory over Anaheim.

Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson also scored and Hughes had three assists for the Canucks, who have won six of eight. Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves in Vancouver’s sixth consecutive win over the Ducks.

Olen Zellweger scored a power-play goal early in the first period for Anaheim, which has lost seven of nine. Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots.

Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko took shots from teammates again after the morning skate, and he could return to practice this week. The Southern California native and 2023-24 Vezina Trophy finalist hasn’t played this season due to a knee injury incurred late last season.

—

SHARKS 2 BLUE JACKETS 1 (OT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Wennberg scored 3:11 into overtime and San Jose celebrated the return of No. 1 overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini with a win over Columbus.

Defenceman Jack Thompson scored his first career goal for the Sharks (4-8-2), who entered the night with the worst record in the NHL. San Jose has won four of five.

Celebrini, the top pick in the 2024 NHL draft, missed 12 games with a hip injury he sustained in the season opener Oct. 10 — an injury first incurred during the pre-season. Celebrini didn’t score and missed a shot early in overtime.

San Jose goalie Vitek Vanacek was fantastic in net, making 49 saves.

Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko scored for the second consecutive game. Columbus (5-6-1) has lost three straight.

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Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliffe pick up second win at WTA Finals

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November 5, 2024

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.

The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.

The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.

Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.

The final is scheduled for Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

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November 4, 2024

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EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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