TORONTO — So, what’s the big deal, really?
It was only three games, this most recent losing skid for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And William Nylander — the man least bothered and most shirtless during this week’s referendum in Leafs Nation — made certain the slump wouldn’t make it to four.
Nylander froze the clock and iced any palm tempted to smash the panic button when he busted in by his lonesome and snapped the game-winning puck past Jacob Markstrom in the fourth period.
“I don’t know who gets more breakaways in the NHL than this guy,” Auston Matthews smirked, following the Leafs’ 4-3 OT victory over the New Jersey Devils.
“So, yeah, I had a pretty good feeling about it.”
Just how the home team rallied, and the protagonists in the forefront Thursday’s comeback story, must have felt as familiar to the visiting coach as the commute to the rink.
Thrice Sheldon Keefe’s Devils — who will enter 2025-26 still looking for a win over Toronto — mounted one-goal leads on enemy ice.
And thrice the Maple Leafs, showing more resilience and resolve over these three periods than the past three games combined, responded with goals of their own.
“We knew we were in that game the whole time,” said Mitch Marner, who set up the tying and winning goals and became the fastest Leaf in history to 700 points.
“We didn’t get frustrated. We just stuck with it through 60 minutes. We knew it was gonna be a hard game, and I thought the energy on the bench throughout the whole 60 was great, too. Regardless of what happened on the ice, we’re staying positive and we’re encouraging each other.”
The Leafs dug in the puck battles, checked hard net-front, and sustained more O-zone pressure. They outshot the Devils 41-24 and outhit them 25-14.
In short, Toronto brought the response game fans had been not-so-patiently waiting a week to see. And the effort was led by the superstars.
Nylander scored twice, and so did Matthews.
The latter’s 3-3 tying goal with less than five minutes in regulation was a patented downhill high snipe that beat Markstom clean and high short side, and it came off a Devils neutral-zone turnover.
“That one hurts,” lamented Keefe.
He has seen too many Matthews-led third-period rallies in this barn to count but never from this perch.
“Getting that goal to tie it up was big,” Matthews said. “It brought some life onto the bench, brought some life into the arena, which was nice.”
With John Tavares sidelined and the Devils dressing a formidable one-two centre punch of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier (who combined for all three Jersey goals), Berube needed his captain to elevate.
“He led the way. He was dialled in. He was working, shooting, attacking, doing a lot of good things,” Berube said. “We need that from our leader.”
As unflustered as Nylander was by his first-place team’s three-game hiccup and the locals’ booing them off the ice Saturday and Tuesday, the winger was equally casual about the reversing fortunes on one of his countless breakaways.
Why does he get so many of those anyway?
“I dunno. Get a lot of good passes,” Nylander shrugged, tarps naturally off. “Nice to find the back of the net, for sure.”
Berube believes there’s a little more to the stylish breakaways than that.
“Real high hockey IQ, where he can get open and take advantage of people. That’s a great play by Mitch, too, to read the chance,” Berube said. “Willy had a heckuva game. He had second and third effort on pucks. He was working tonight.”
Yep. One streak snaps, another continues.
The Maple Leafs are now 3-0 against their former coach.
“I certainly enjoyed it up until our last mistake, when we gave Willy his breakaway,” Keefe said.
“Disappointed we don’t leave with two points here. But, you know, I probably owe the Leafs an extra point.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• “Bad luck” is how Berube frames the loss of Tavares (lower body), who got injured at Wednesday’s practice during an innocuous-looking tangle with teammate Chris Tanev.
Tavares rates second on the team in goals (20), third in points (42), and — over a 16-year career — has only once missed more than seven games in a single season.
For a net-front, below-the-dots guy, his durability is underdiscussed.
“He’s been bringing it every single game this season,” Bobby McMann says. “Whether he ends up on the scoresheet or not, just a good leader every single night, so definitely a big hole that’s going to be tough to fill.”
• The weeks-long absence of Tavares has gifted the slumping Max Domi a chance to fill that void and flex his offensive skills on the second line alongside William Nylander.
Domi remains stuck on three goals since signing on with the Leafs for four more years after his 47-point campaign. He has four assists in his past dozen games before this one but assured his line had been playing well.
Where’s the offence?
“Hey, man, it happens,” Domi said pre-game. “Comes and goes, but just gotta stick with it.”
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Berube has been encouraging the playmaker to pull the trigger and is setting him up for success. Fifty-eight per cent of Domi’s shifts begin in the O-zone.
“He needs to get on the inside more,” Berube challenged pre-game. “He needs to shoot pucks more, which I thought he has the last couple games. And skate. He’s a good skater. He’s got to use the speed.”
Well, a hounding Domi stripped the puck from Jonathan Kovacevic in the second period and put one on a tee for Nylander to get the Leafs on the board in Period 2.
“He stepped up his intensity in the game, just being involved around the play more,” Berube praised after the win.
• Biggest thing Jake McCabe learned under Keefe’s tutelage?
“Keefer really opened up my mind (on) the offensive side of the puck and gaining middle ice and how that can break teams down,” McCabe says. “He prepared well.”
Under Keefe, McCabe scored a career-high eight goals and 28 points and earned a prominent role in his only NHL playoff experience.
Keefe describes McCabe as “a gamer,” which is the best kind of hockey compliment.
“When I spoke with Caber after being let go, one of the things I said to him was, ‘Every team needs a Jake McCabe.’ He’s the ultimate team player,” Keefe says. “Plays the game hard and honest.”
• Always love it when the player who draws the penalty is the one who scores on the ensuing power-play.
Both Matthews and Hischier did just that, tucking in goals after drawing tripping penalties.
• Anthony Stolarz has resumed skating. It’s been five weeks since his knee injury.
That he hasn’t practised with the team yet leads us to suspect we won’t see the goalie in game action until after the 4 Nations break.
