It's time for William Nylander to step up in Matthews' absence
Sheldon Keefe has already called out William Nylander for being disengaged and it's shown in his performances at points this season. His feet aren't moving, he's not getting into the corners like he was early on, and even when he has the puck, he looks less dangerous than he did in the first half of the season.
When he and John Tavares were struggling, Tavares was still finding ways to impact the game other than on the score sheet. He was engaged on every play and he added more physicality to his game. He also relied on his playmaking and elite faceoff skills to have a positive impact when the puck wasn't going in the net. That hasn't been the case for Nylander. He's looked disengaged and despite having 3 points in his last 5 games, he's made mazy plays that have directly resulted in a goal against.
Both the 4th and 5th Sabres goals in Sunday's Heritage Classic were results of lazy plays by Nylander. The 4th one you'd like a save by Mrazek but you'd also like for Nylander to cover someone. Meanwhile, the empty net goal was because Nylander couldn't hold the line and then was lazy on the backcheck. It was an empty net goal, but if Nylander had the same drive defensively as Matthews, Marner, or Tavares - Tage Thompson would've at least had to work for the empty-netter.
It seemed as though Nylander heard Keefe's wake up call when he was demoted ahead of the Coyotes game but in the Heritage Classic he looked more like the player he has in the second half of this season rather than the first.
With Auston Matthews sidelined for the next two games as a result of his suspension, Nylander will have to elevate his play in 34's absence if the Leafs hope to get back into the win column against a hungry Dallas Stars squad and an always dangerous Carolina Hurricanes team on Tuesday and Thursday.
He's shown in the past the he can step up in a star player's absence. We saw it in the first round series against the Montreal Canadiens last year when John Tavares went down with his horrifying injury in game one.
With Matthews being suspended for two games, William Nylander must step up and become a more dominant player. The Leafs are counting on him.
