Nick Robertson couldn't have asked for a better season debut
Nick Robertson should have been on the opening night roster, but thanks to cap restrictions and waivers concerns, he began the season with the Marlies while Denis Malgin was given the spot on the second line. Thanks to Matt Murray's injury, Robertson found himself called up much sooner than expected and he wasted no time making an impact.
Replacing Malgin on the Leafs' second line with John Tavares and WIlliam Nylander, Robertson could not have asked for a better season debut. He was a buzzsaw the entire game, all over the ice and created the chances that led to both of his goals. The first, he made an excellent play to keep the puck in before breaking to the net and receiving a pass from Michael Bunting and burying it low blocker. Then on his overtime winner, he broke up a two-on-one by picking the pocket of Jamie Benn before heading up the ice and scoring on a one-timer feed from Auston Matthews.
Robertson was all smiles after the game saying, "A week ago if someone said I would get the OT winner, I'd say you were crazy. You never know what can happen in this industry. I was just excited. You kind of dream of this stuff, to score in overtime in the NHL. Now for me, it's just keep going, keep fighting and earning every day... You kind of dream of this stuff, to score in overtime in the NHL."
Robertson played so well that head coach Sheldon Keefe had no qualms with playing the 21-year-old in OT in what was a pretty important game for the Leafs here in the early going. Not only did he play in the OT frame, he was cast in a feature role, alongside Auston Matthews.
"I had to talk myself out of putting him out earlier in overtime," said Keefe when asked about the decision to play Robertson with Matthews on the game winning goal.
His performance last night, injected some much needed energy into the Leafs' lineup. It's only one game, but he did more in his one game than Malgin did in four. As Robertson said, "For me, it's just keep going, keep fighting and earning every day," and boy has he earned it. He'll be skating along side Tavares and Nylander for the foreseeable future while Malgin watches from the pressbox.
