Nylander says hat trick ‘super special’ in Calgary

CALGARY – Eight years to the day of his first career NHL hat trick, William Nylander notched his second on Tuesday and it came in the same building in which his dad used to play.

Nylander’s big night, giving him 33 goals on the season, helped the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 6-3 NHL victory over the Calgary Flames.

Only Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (37 goals) has lit the red light more this season.

“Obviously it’s super special,” said Nylander, who has nine goals in his last eight games. “Born here and scoring my second career hat trick eight years after my first one is pretty wild.”

His first three-goal night was on the road in Boston.

While this one also came away from Scotiabank Arena, it was a home-game of sorts for the 28-year-old Nylander, who was born in Calgary while his dad, Michael, played for the Flames.

Adding to that familiar feel were the boisterous Leafs supporters who injected large throngs of blue into what’s normally a sea of red. Many of those fans then left the arena with nothing on their head after Nylander’s final goal into an empty net brought Leafs hats raining down onto the ice.

“We have a huge following, the best fans in the league,” said Nylander. “So the support we get wherever we play is tremendous. To see those hats come down is special.”

On that final goal with 44 seconds remaining, Nylander muscled the puck away from MacKenzie Weegar at the Toronto blue line and raced away on a breakaway.

“He’s got a lethal shot, we all know that. He can hang onto pucks,” said Leafs coach Craig Berube. “That last goal was a hard puck battle. Good job by him with the goalie out. Sealed the game.”

That dangerous shot was on display twice. His first goal on the power play, at 2:36 of the second that tied the game 1-1, beat rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf on his blocker side.

His second on an odd-man rush that made it 4-2 with 1:42 remaining in the middle period, cleanly beat Wolf on his glove side.

“I was just laughing as yesterday in practice, he scored on me like every time he shot on me, said goaltender Joseph Woll, who had 23 saves. “So as soon as he got the puck on the 2-on-1, there’s no question he was going to score.”

Bobby McMann, same age as Nylander, but in his first full NHL season, says he has learned a lot already from watching his Swedish teammate shoot.

“That’s what I’ve watched the most is how he baits the goalie for a half second. He leans into it, but then holds it for a second just before he shoots. I think it throws the goalie off a little bit,” said McMann. “Just the timing of when he releases the puck is something I’m trying to pick up on.”

McMann displayed a similarly dangerous shot in ripping a shot past Wolf on a two-on-one at 12:28 of the second that broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Leafs the lead for good.

“He makes it look easy every time. It’s crazy,” said McMann, who is up to a career-best 16 goals on the season. “Sometimes he just holds that shot, or just finds those little spots just above the pad or below the glove.”

In his 10th NHL season, Nylander’s career high is 40 goals, which he’s had each of the past two seasons. Tuesday’s big night has him on pace to eclipse 50.

“He capitalized on every opportunity he had,” said Matthew Knies, who also scored.

John Tavares rounded out the scoring for the Leafs. Auston Matthews chipped in with three assists.

Toronto’s big night comes without right-winger Mitch Marner (lower-body injury) as the club’s leading scorer missed his first game of the season.

Berube doesn’t expect Marner to be out very long, saying he could be back as soon as Thursday when the Leafs play the Kraken in Seattle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.

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