TORONTO – William Nylander will make the journey to Detroit for the Toronto Maple Leafs outing towards the Purple Wings on Sunday. However whether or not the expert Swede fits up stays to be seen.
Nylander departed early within the second interval of the Maple Leafs 7-5 win towards their provincial rival, the Ottawa Senators, on Saturday.
“Properly, he’s approaching a visit, in order that’s a very good signal,” Toronto head coach Craig Berube mentioned. “However lower-body (discomfort) proper now. We’ll see how he’s tomorrow.”
Nylander appeared to take a slash from Ottawa ahead Drake Batherson together with the Senators’ crease late in his third shift of the second interval.
“I don’t know what the extent is or what occurred,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews mentioned. “However clearly he’s an enormous a part of this workforce and drives lots of play for us. So clearly we’re hoping for the perfect.”
POWER PLAY’S BETTER
The Maple Leafs entered the sport mired within the thirty second spot in power-play effectivity. The offensive struggles with the man-advantage value assistant coach Marc Savard his job final Monday.
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However Toronto feasted on Ottawa’s struggling penalty kill, thirty first within the league. Matthews arrange Nylander for an early power-play strike 40 seconds in. Later within the opening interval, Max Domi fed Matthew Knies for one more and a 2-0 lead.
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Knies wound up with two targets, together with the game-winner. Domi had three assists.
“It was nice, particularly with each items getting a aim early within the recreation,” Matthews mentioned. “It’s such an enormous a part of video games, and to get that momentum, to get a aim or two to energy play every night time, it’s big.”
Matthews broke out of a four-game hunch that noticed him go pointless. He returned from the three-day Christmas break together with his first three-point outing of the season, with a aim and two assists.
His second-period aim was his 416th profession aim, 4 shy of Mats Sundin’s franchise report of 420.
EMOTIONS RUN HIGH
The Senators and Maple Leafs are eight months faraway from their first-round conflict final spring that noticed Toronto take the playoff collection in six video games. The hate, nevertheless, stays.
After a spirited scrum to finish the sport, Maple Leafs newcomer Troy Stecher raised his arms to get the gang into it.
“I cherished it,” Domi mentioned. “He’s actually one of the crucial aggressive guys anyplace I performed with, and he competes each shift. Clearly, an enormous division win, and he was on the ice, scrumming it up. It’s emotional, so it’s what you need.”
Stecher is together with his eighth NHL workforce, having performed in his 18th recreation for Toronto. He’s made an impression in his newest cease.
“He brings lots of vitality each night time,” Berube mentioned. “This man performs as arduous as anyone that I’ve coached. He’s full bore in all places, and I believe it’s rubbing off on our workforce. I actually do consider that. He’s performed extraordinarily nicely for us since we received him.”
DEBUT OUTING
Ottawa veteran Claude Giroux performed in his 1,three hundredth profession regular-season recreation, whereas 23-year-old Xavier Bourgault made his NHL debut. Bourgault of L’Islet, Que., was a 2021 first-round (twenty second total) choose of the Edmonton Oilers.
He performed 210 regular-season AHL video games with the Bakersfield Condors and Belleville Senators earlier than being promoted Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Dec. 28, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
