The Maple Leafs rookies have been the central storyline in Toronto for the entire season and they continue to be after a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers on Friday.
Some days it’s Auston Matthews leading the way, others its Mitch Marner, but on Friday night it was William Nylander.
In his first shift of the game, Nylander fired a shot high over the head of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Not long after, Nylander took a pass from Nazem Kadri and ripped a shot right through the legs of the Rangers goaltender — something he hadn’t done in about 10 years.
Whenever the 20-year-old was on the ice the puck seemed to be on his stick. Over the course of 13:30, he scored his goal and registered five of the Leafs’ 27 shots on net.
Nylander now has nine goals and 18 assists through 39 games this season, and he currently sits tied in fourth with Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk among all rookies in scoring. Matthews and Marner sit ahead of him at second and third respectively with 36 and 34 points.
Marner recorded his 24th assist of the season (first among rookies) on the second goal of the game on Friday, and Matthews recorded an assist in the second period when another Leafs rookie, Connor Brown, scored his 10th of the season.
Much of the heavy lifting has been done by the youngsters this season as three of the top five scorers on the Leafs are rookies (Matthews, Marner, Nylander).
The Leafs now sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with 46 points, just two points shy of a playoff spot. They have five games in hand over the Boston Bruins, who are second with 49 points.
The Leafs will have an opportunity to grab a playoff spot in the next eight days as they host the Ottawa Senators, who are currently third in the Atlantic with 48 points, in consecutive Saturday nights.