Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander, left, and Seattle Kraken's Will Borgen battle for the puck in Toronto on Oct. 31.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
In hockey, as in life, actions usually speak louder than words.
After scoring twice in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, William Nylander will be hoping his head coach has his eyes and ears wide open.
The Swedish star had caused something of a stir before the morning skate in this haven of hockey hysteria, telling the assembled media that he wanted more ice time, and that he needed the extra minutes to help him get in a better rhythm.
Through the first 11 games of the season, Nylander’s average time on ice is down almost two full minutes from last season’s 19:55, when he was the team’s second-highest scorer with 98 points. He played just 17:34 on Thursday, 24 seconds below his season average, although the second-period penalty he drew for closing his hand on the puck cut into that time.
Nylander tried to diffuse any kind of brewing situation after the game, the team’s second straight.
“Yeah, we talk about it, I mean, it’s no big deal,” he said. “It’s just conversations to have. It is what it is.”
Head coach Craig Berube, hardly one to elevate individual objectives above the team’s goals, said Thursday morning that he had no problem with Nylander’s request. However, as he pointed out, he’s not killing penalties this year like he was last year.
“Willy’s played good hockey for us this year,” Berube said. “I don’t have a problem with his game. Ice time’s, ice time. I mean, I try to use my bench best I can.
“I think everybody’s important, and so I try to manage the bench that way. People have roles. I use them in those roles. Willy played a good game tonight. The line was really good for us again.”
Following three straight defeats, Berube rejigged his second line before Monday’s win against the previously unbeaten Jets in Winnipeg, with John Tavares centring Nylander and Max Pacioretty. The trio exploded for nine points that night, and followed that up with another five on Thursday night as Toronto registered its sixth win over Seattle in seven games.
Nylander now has a team-leading eight goals in 11 games, and with 12 points is tied with Mitch Marner for first on the team.
While all three are veteran players – with a cumulative 2,643 games of NHL experience – the chemistry has been virtually instant, with Pacioretty in his first season with the Leafs after joining the team on a professional tryout in training camp.
“Well, Pacioretty’s a physical player,” Berube said when asked to explain the synergy. “He’s getting in there and creating a lot of space for these guys, in my opinion. And JT is really strong on the puck, right, doing a good job there and Willy puts it in the net. It’s a pretty solid line.”
While Nylander said he sometimes has trouble working out which is which between his two linemates at high speed – pointing out they both have black sticks with black tape - Tavares tried to break down why the three have worked so well together, albeit in a small sample size.
“We’ve been able to play off each other really well and have a good feel for what we do,” Tavares said after having a hand in both of Nylander’s goals. “And when you get the instincts and reading off one another, it goes a long way into making plays and playing quick and creating opportunities.”
The opportunities were certainly there for Toronto Thursday against a Seattle team fresh off an 8-2 win in Montreal against the Canadiens on Tuesday. The Leafs outshot the Kraken 30-25, although it took a piece of quick thinking with less than 10 seconds left in the first period for Toronto to get on the board.
Following an icing call, Leaf captain Auston Matthews won the resulting faceoff, slid the puck across the crease to Marner, who hoodwinked Joey Daccord in the Seattle goal by one-timing it back across the doorstep for Matthew Knies to net his sixth goal of the season.
That set the stage for Nylander’s two-goal second-period salvo, where both times he positioned himself on the back door of Daccord’s goal and was fed passes through traffic by first Morgan Rielly and then by Tavares. Matthews added an empty netter at the end of the third, banking the puck off the boards from inside his own half to net his fifth of the season.
And while Joseph Woll made 24 saves to pick up his first win of the new season, his shutout bid was ended with just 3:28 to play when Eeli Tolvanen beat him blocker side following a pass from Ryker Evans.
But given his injury history, which includes missing the start of this season as well as being sidelined for Game 7 of the first-round playoff series against Boston last year, Woll has learned to take a more philosophical mindset towards the vicissitudes of his NHL career.
“I think now I understand there’s things you can control, and there’s things you can’t, and sometimes with injuries like that, you can’t really control much,” he said. “And at the end of the day, I know the work I put in, and I’m confident in that.”
The only dour note for Toronto was the power play, which is now 3-for-32 on the season. However, the penalty kill was immaculate, successfully killing off all three of Seattle’s penalties.
After improving to 6-4-1 on the season, the Maple Leafs now head to St. Louis for a rematch on Saturday against Berube’s former team, the Blues. St. Louis won 5-1 in Toronto last week.