Yahoo Sports 'The Iron Lung': Maple Leafs' William Nylander Near 5-Minute Shift Explained In Club's Loss To Jets
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs fell 5-2 to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, William Nylander got his ice time.
The forward finished the game playing 22:15, only behind Morgan Rielly, who played 22:37 in Toronto's loss. It's his fourth-highest time on ice this season, with the top being against Buffalo where he played 22:18 on Dec 15 in the team's 5-3 win.
The most fascinating stat wasn't how much Nylander played in the game, but how long one of his shifts was for the Maple Leafs. The forward was on the ice for 4:55 during a shift in the second period, which included John Tavares' 200th goal with the Maple Leafs while on a four-minute power play.
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Nylander remained on the ice for three more minutes following Tavares' goal against the Jets.
"He's got the iron lung," said Mitch Marner, who also assisted on Tavares' 200th goal with Toronto.
"Obviously the whole four-minute power play and then they did a pretty good job of sustaining some pressure after that. So, don't want to be in that position as a player. It's not a lot of fun, I'll tell you that."
Nylander told the media on Oct. 31 ahead of Toronto's game against the Seattle Kraken that he'd like more ice time. He averaged 18:01 per game before the Maple Leafs' Halloween matchup against the Kraken.
In 22 of his last 25 games, Nylander has played more than the 18:01 he averaged through the first 10 games of the year. Part of that might be due to Auston Matthews' absence in the lineup, plus his play on both of Toronto's power play units.
When asked after the game on Monday about the forward's long shift, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube didn't seem to have a problem with it.
"Willie knows he can stay out for the full power play. Two minutes," said Berube.
"You know, at that point, I'd have to look at the tape and look at why he didn't come off or where the situation went. But, you know, he's honestly trying to score."
Related: William Nylander Earns NHL Second Star Honors After Dominant Week for Maple Leafs
The 28-year-old is on pace for a career year with the Maple Leafs. His 23 goals this season puts him one behind Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead in that department. Nylander has 40 points in 35 games, only behind Mitch Marner — who has 10 goals and 36 assists, the eighth-most points in the NHL — for the team lead.
Nylander is in the first season of an eight-year, $92 million contract he signed with Toronto on Jan. 8. He has 240 goals and 328 assists for 568 points in 638 career games with the Maple Leafs.
