TORONTO — William Nylander and Mika Zibanejad were playing a game within a meaningless game.
The two dashing stars both came into the final night of their regular season with 39 goals apiece, tied in 2022-23 for the most among all Swedish skaters.
Next goal wins bragging rights.
Speaking about the mini battle, Nylander couldn’t help but smile following his Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-2 comeback road win at Madison Square Garden over Zibanejad’s New York Rangers.
The runway-ready Nylander was fixated on finishing the most productive campaign of his NHL life with a nice, fat, round number in the goal column. He peppered eight shot attempts in the first period alone and admitted to feeling rattled when Jaroslav Halak denied him on a clear first-period breakaway.
Nylander’s 12th attempt did the trick, as he capped off a give-and-go with centre Ryan O’Reilly below the dot and roofed a puck back bar in style, giving him bragging rights over the Rangers team MVP.
“We talked about it on the ice when we skated by each other. Same after that breakaway. He had a few chances too,” Nylander said. “I was shooting it a little bit more than usual today just to try to get that 40 goals. It was nice it came out at the end.
“Nice to get 40.”
With not much left to play for but round numbers — Mitch Marner fell short of 100 points on the year, but game-winning goal-getter Noel Acciari hit 100 on the career — Nylander’s teammates were thrilled to be part of his milestone.
“He’s pretty like kind of even keel most the time, so maybe cracked a little more of a smile this time when he got it,” Acciari said.
Added Joseph Woll, who wrapped the NHL portion of his season with a 6-1 record: “He’s just a really good guy on and off the ice, which I think is pretty special. You know, I think a lot of times with really good players — not really here, but I would assume (elsewhere) — the guys have a pretty big ego. And he’s just a really awesome dude from the first time I met him, and it makes me really happy to see all the success he’s had.”
Nylander had hit a mini lull in late March, dialling back his drive and footwork when it became apparent that the Leafs’ playoff matchup had been set.
In response, coach Sheldon Keefe had tried dropping him to the third line and, more recently, the second power-play unit to get the player’s attention.
But Nylander’s performance this week — as Toronto wrapped its campaign with four straight wins and 50 total — has pumped him back in Keefe’s good books at the perfect time of year.
“I thought he was excellent,” Keefe said. “On this (3-0) road trip, while our team played well, I thought, really, Willy, in particular, had a terrific trip.
“So it was really good to see him get rewarded in the end with the goal, because he’s really had a nice trip here and should be feeling really confident going into the playoffs.”
The young man who passed Nylander the Leafs’ player-of-the-game belt inside the bowels of Madison Square Garden is feeling his confidence swelling, too.
That would be Matthew Knies, who still doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a game at the pro level.
Skating on Nylander and O’Reilly’s line — likely as a placeholder for an absent John Tavares — Knies’s performance in New York was better than Tuesday’s in Tampa, which was better than Monday’s in Florida.
The kid is getting better with every shift as he figures out Keefe’s systems and acclimatizes to the speed and size of NHL opponents.
This three-game test drive in the regular season has been critical for both Knies and the organization’s evaluation of him.
“It’s been huge for my confidence,” Knies said. “I’m getting more confident and just more comfortable on the bench and on the ice as I go throughout the process.”
Keefe says he’d feel “very comfortable” using the rookie in Toronto’s opening series against the Lightning next week.
“I mean, the playoffs still remain to be seen, right? That’s a different animal. But the only test he could have is these three games for him — and he certainly fit in. This is three very good teams, three playoff teams, that he’s played: against a Florida team that was desperate; the same team we’re going to play in Tampa; and here tonight,” Keefe said.
“All three games, he looked like he belonged to me.”
Fox’s Fast 5
• A thoughtful Patrick Kane on Jonathan Toews, who played his final game with the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night:
“He’s a legend, man. I mean, he turned that franchise around. It’s pretty impressive, obviously, what he’s done with his career, but just for that city in general. Great with the fans, great with the people. He was the guy who led our team. He’s a legend.
“He was like a brother. It was amazing to come up with him at the same time. Obviously, he was a lot more mature than I was coming into the league, and ahead of his years too.
“I just look back at all the adversity we went through as a team. Even now that I think about it, he was going through all the health stuff in the bubble, and he was probably our best player in the bubble. He was just grinding through and helping lead our team past Edmonton in that play-in round. Just really impressive stuff like that.
“Obviously I look back to the three Stanley Cups, him giving [Marian] Hossa the Cup after we won in 2010. He was our best player on the ice in Game 6 when we won in 2013. In 2015, winning at home was special. But he was the leader of all those teams. He was the guy.”
• Nylander, Michael Bunting, Alexander Kerfoot and David Kämpf played all 82 games for the Maple Leafs this season. For pending UFAs Kerfoot and Kämpf, that makes back-to-back 82-gamers in Toronto.
• The Rangers’ first-round opponent has been decided. It’s New Jersey, a short train ride away. Heading into the night, the Devils would likely have been the organization’s second choice matchup-wise because the nothing-to-lose Devils give the Blueshirts fits with their speed.
“It’s a rivalry. They’re right across the river,” Zibanejad said. “They play fast, and they punish you when you make mistakes through the neutral zone. We’ve talked about that after every game we’ve played against them.
“We gotta match that energy.”
• For the first time in his seven-year career, Auston Matthews finished a season with more assists (45) than goals (40).
• There will be no salary cap applied to the Maple Leafs next week, and we can focus entirely on the hockey. Rejoice!
