TAKEAWAYS: On Nylander, McMann and Knies following Maple Leafs' win in Calgary
'Born here and scoring my second career hat trick eight years after my first one is pretty wild,' Nylander, 28, said after the game
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No Mitch Marner, no problem.
Not with William Nylander tearing up the National Hockey League.
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TAKEAWAYS: On Nylander, McMann and Knies following Maple Leafs' win in Calgary Back to video
Our takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 victory in Calgary against the Flames on Tuesday, a win that featured Nylander’s second career hat trick:
WILLIE STYLES
In the city where he was born and had not scored previously in the NHL, Nylander had a night to remember as the Leafs scored at least six goals in a game for the sixth time in 2024-25.
Nylander had a Leafs-high six shots on goal and scored twice in the second period before putting the Flames away with an empty-net goal with 44 seconds left.
Nylander’s only other NHL hat trick came exactly eight years ago, on Feb. 4, 2017, in a 6-5 Leafs win in Boston against the Bruins. Between his hat tricks, Nylander had 32 two-goal games.
“Born here and scoring my second career hat trick eight years after my first one is pretty wild,” Nylander, 28, told media in Calgary after the game. “We have a huge following, the best fans, so to see all those hats come down was special.”
Nylander’s three goals put him at 33 in 53 games, an output that has him on pace to score 51 goals in 82 games. He’s one of three Leafs to play in every game so far, along with defenceman Morgan Rielly and forward Steven Lorentz.
And with nine goals in his past eight games, Nylander has moved past Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets for second-most in the NHL. Reinhart and Scheifele are at 31 goals. Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers leads all NHL players with 37.
Marner, who missed a game for the first time this season, has been the Leafs’ best player. Among Toronto forwards, Nylander isn’t far off. Nylander also isn’t far off setting a career-high in goals. He scored 40 two years ago and again in 2023-24.
When a player of Marner’s stature is out, it’s on the other leaders to step up to another level. Nylander did that. So did captain Auston Matthews, who had three assists in his 600th NHL game. It was the first time Matthews had three assists in a game since March 20, 2024, against the Washington Capitals.
As Nylander went about his prolific ways, Max Domi didn’t have an overly impactful night on the right side on the Leafs’ top line. Playing in Marner’s spot with Matthews and Matthew Knies, Domi didn’t have a point and failed to record a shot on goal as each of his three attempts were blocked.
Domi didn’t score in his first 22 games before scoring in three games in a row in mid-December. Since then, he has gone 20 games without scoring a goal.
As for Marner, the Leafs will know more about his status on Wednesday.
“I don’t think it’s serious,” coach Craig Berube said. “I think that I’m hoping he is available next game (in Seattle on Thursday). That’s the way I look at it. We will see if he can get on the ice (Wednesday) and see how he reacts. He was better (Tuesday), so that was a good sign.”
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VERY KNIES, MCMANN
Fitting, wasn’t it, that Knies reached 20 goals in a season for the first time in the NHL and Bobby McMann set a career high with his 16th goal.
The two represent everything Berube wants in his wingers — size, tenacity and an ability to put the puck in the net.
McMann used his lethal shot to score the Leafs’ third goal of a four-goal second period, firing the puck past Wolf during an odd-man rush.
In the third, Knies rushed forward to poke the puck into an open net after Matthews was stopped on a breakaway.
Later in the third period, Knies and McMann, on separate shifts, got ice time as the Flames pressed at 6-on-5 with Wolf pulled and on the bench. Berube can trust both wingers.
Never mind that the Leafs had interest in Brandon Saad after he was set free by the St. Louis Blues (and signed by the Vegas Golden Knights). The Leafs are set on the left wing with Knies and McMann.
The latter, by the way, should have a permanent place in the top six. Max Pacioretty has not been productive on a line with John Tavares and Nylander, and Berube slotted McMann on the second line for some shifts against the Flames. That’s where McMann should stay going forward.
McMann should hit 20 goals before too long. You can count on more of the same from him and Knies for years to come.
POWERED UP
For the second time in as many games, the Leafs scored two power-play goals.
It marked the seventh time this season the Leafs have scored at least two power-play goals in a game. On one occasion, on Nov. 5 in a win against Boston at home, they scored three.
Importantly against the Flames, the Leafs didn’t play around on the perimeter. On both of their goals with a man advantage, they got the puck through the middle of the ice and made something out of it. Nylander scored on a one-timer on a pass from Knies and Tavares used his backhand to score after he was set up by Matthews.
Those kinds of goals would have made Berube a happy guy on the flight to Seattle.
And since mid-January, the Leafs are 44.4% (8-for-18) on the power play, good for first in the NHL in that span. It’s not a huge sample size, true, but it’s encouraging.
Rielly, moved back to the top power-play unit with Marner out, also assisted on Tavares’ goal.
Rielly had a strong night in 17 1/2 minutes at five-on-five, as the Leafs outshot the Flames 10-5 when he was on the ice. Like the recent power-play success, take that as a solid positive.
X: @koshtorontosun
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