Sheldon Keefe had plenty to say about the Bertuzzi, Nylander, Tavares line following a 3-2 win on Friday
After not playing for a week, the Maple Leafs took to the ice for their first of two games in Sweden yesterday against the Detroit Red Wings. The first two periods were very sloppy, and to be blunt, very boring. Detroit was coming off of an overtime loss Thursday to the Ottawa Senators while the Leafs were trying to get back into a rhythm and get their legs moving. With the Leafs down two in the third period, William Nylander seemed to find another gear and helped spark the Leafs' offense, which came entirely from him and his line.
Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi and John Tavares accounted for all three of the Leafs' goals in the third and finished with a combined 8 points. Following the game, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about Nylander's ability to elevate his game and help the Leafs generate some offense throughout the lineup.
"It is tremendous. I am sure Willy wanted to have a night like that. Willy has had a lot of nights like that so far this season. He, like a lot of our team, didn't have much happening in the first two periods. I don't think he had a shot on goal in the first two periods. It was clear to me that he had a little extra jump in his step in that third period. We started to double him up a little bit."
Keefe further explained that while he was doing his best to roll four lines to avoid over-extending Nylander's group, he didn't want to lose the momentum.
"We were still trying to use four lines, but I was trying to use the Tavares line more every third shift and move the other guys around. I thought they had a little something going. Willy certainly drove it, but Tavares and Bertuzzi were excellent as well. Those guys came through for us, and the rest of the group fed off of that. The Matthews line started to have some really good shifts and had some chances of their own. It was really good. Clearly, it was what we needed in the moment."
Nylander extended his franchise record point streak to 16 games with his assist on Bertuzzi's goal to get the Leafs on the board. He went on to add a goal and second assist on Tavares' goal. Through 16 games, Nylander has 11 goals and 25 points and has been the best Leaf by far to begin the season.
Since losing four in a row, the Leafs have now won four of their last five and will look to add another win to their record as they take on Minnesota on Sunday with Nylander looking to extend his season-starting point streak to an incredible 17 games.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 18 | 248 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe had plenty to say about the Bertuzzi, Nylander, Tavares line following a 3-2 win on Friday Will Nylander extend his point streak to 17 games on Sunday? | ||
| Yes | 227 | 91.5 % |
| No | 21 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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