William Nylander's First Hat Trick in 8 Years Results in Special Gift for Maple Leafs Teammates

Tuesday evening's meeting with the Flames had a later start time than usual, with the game taking place in Calgary, but if you were among those who stayed up to watch the game, William Nylander certainly made it worth losing some sleep.

Nylander recently earned some praise from veteran teammate Max Pacioretty, who is even more in awe of Nylander after getting to know him. I'm sure Nylander's performance on Tuesday only added to it.

The Calgary-born Swede was on fire on Tuesday evening, putting a trio of pucks in the net to record his 2nd career hat trick, and his first in 8 years to the day. His last hat trick came way back on February 4th of 2017.

It's a little astounding that Nylander hadn't lucked his way into any additional hat tricks along the way, as the Leafs' leading goal scorer on the season has produced 2-goal games 32 times between hat tricks, according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun.

So, what was Nylander able to accomplish with his hat trick that has made him the most popular player in the Leafs' locker room at the moment? He wished to have Craig Berube give them a day off on Wednesday. Berube has granted that wish, officially canceling practice on the heels of their 6-3 win in Calgary.

The Leafs next take to the ice against the Seattle Kraken in their 2nd-to-last game prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off. That game also has a late start time with the puck expected to drop shortly after 10:00 pm ET.

There is a possibility that Anthony Stolarz could make his much-anticipated return for the Leafs against Seattle, but no confirmation on that from Craig Berube yet, though he did hint at it on Tuesday.

The Leafs will close out their 4-game road trip and kick off their two week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off after Saturday's clash with the Vancouver Canucks, though that game will take place at 7:00 pm ET and will be the feature game on Hockey Night in Canada.