‘I’m Happy He’s Going To Be On My Team’: Wild Goaltender Filip Gustavsson Looking Forward To Being Teammates With Maple Leafs’ William Nylander At 4 Nations Face-Off

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their third straight contest on Wednesday night, falling to the Minnesota Wild for the second time this season, 3-1.

Entering Wednesday’s game, the Leafs hadn’t scored since the 3:46 minute of the first period in Ottawa on Saturday. Their best chance came off the stick of captain Auston Matthews in the first period, who rang a shot off the crossbar but failed to produce in a 2-0 deficit.

But lacking cohesion and chemistry on offense, the club struggled to generate much.

It wasn’t until William Nylander, the ‘Breakaway Man,’ went toe-to-toe with fellow Swede and Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson on yet another chance in alone but striking the crossbar on the blocker side in the process.

“I thought he was going to come down and shoot glove-side the whole time and then he goes high blocker. Fortunately, he hit the crossbar,” said Gustavsson, referring to Nylander’s breakaway attempt after the game.

Despite outshooting the Wild 32-25 in the game, Toronto could hardly solve the Skelleftea, Sweden, native Gustavsson who back-boned the effort – making 31 saves and posting a .969 save percentage.

Luckily for Nylander, he’ll have the 26-year-old tending the crease in the upcoming 4-Nations tournament, beginning for Team Sweden on February 12 against Team Canada.

Related: 'I Was Telling Matty (Auston Matthews) I Might Drop The Gloves': Maple Leafs' William Nylander Jokes About Going Up Against Teammate Auston Matthews At 4 Nations Face-Off

“Yeah, I mean, he's just super calm back there. Just a great Swedish goalie, too bad I couldn't score on him on the breakaway,” said Nylander post-game.

However, that wasn’t the last page of this story.

In the third, the Leafs needing a goal to cut the lead in half, Nylander buried a Pontus Holmberg pass that came his way – this time on the glove side, beating Gustavsson and getting his redemption for his 29th goal of the year.

“Got one past him at least,” Nylander added.

“He’s so skillful. You never know what he’s going to do,” said Gustavsson of Nylander after the game. “He got the better of me in the third so I’m happy he’s going to be on my team soon."

Gustavsson is one of three members from the Wild set to take part in the event, representing Sweden – with Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin also rostered and set to join Nylander in the best-on-best event.

Nylander mentioned after practice on Wednesday morning that Team Sweden had created a group chat, though no conversations have formulated as of yet.

Related: 'I Think Someone Set Up A Team Chat, Nobody Has Said Anything': Maple Leafs' William Nylander Talks Team Sweden Ahead Of 4 Nations Face-Off

It’s safe to say the two respect each other's games, but it was Gustavsson getting the last laugh this time around. With the tournament fast approaching, the Swedes will be teammates instead of competitors. Set to join forces, it seems the pair are genuinely looking forward to playing with one another on the international stage.

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