New York. William Nylander pulled off his 35th shutout of the season last night, breaking his own NHL scoring record.
It didn’t help, however, as the unfocused Toronto team was defeated by Buffalo 4-3.
– The second period was probably the worst of the entire season, Matters coach Sheldon Keefe.
The Maple Leafs are where they are in the table, they will definitely make the playoffs and they will have to face Tampa in the first round, so the motivation is not 100 percent every time they go out on the ice during a regular season race.
Like against Buffalo at home at Scotiabank Arena last night, when they started well but then there were long sequences when they seemed to have other things in mind – and then of course there would be a loss against such a hungry opponent.
– We played decently in the first half, but in the second and third we were not at a normal level at all, says Kale Yarnkrok, who scored his 15th goal of the season.
Coach Sheldon Keefe agrees.
– The second period was probably the worst in the whole season, he says with a grim grimace.
However, William Nylander was able to console himself with another goal at the end of the third period. It was his 35th of the season and that means he now has a new personal best. It also means that he starts at the top of the Swedish Shooting League. He has three goals to his credit on the hunt for Adrian Kempe and Mika Zibanejad.
For Buffalo, the two points mean they once again have a little, little hanging in the hunt for a playoff spot.
– It was very important, especially since we played well against Rangers last Saturday and still lost in extra time, says coach Don Granato.
Meanwhile, the defending champions got a big icebreaker in Montreal and dusted Montreal with a score of 8-4.
The Ice King was back and cheered Finn Arttur Lehkonen who scored two goals and even played one.
Unfortunately, he also broke a finger.
– He’s back in Denver and will have surgery, sighs coach Jared Bednar.
In short: Colorado’s misfortune with injuries never seems to end.
Dallas stars boil with gas. They beat Seattle again last night, 5-2, winning three straight games – plus six of their last seven.
Jesper Frödén, who has now played eight games with Seattle, provided the assist.
