Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Maple Leafs
Squaring off with nearly identical records entering Wednesday’s contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs were presented with a key opportunity to get out of a rut against a quality Minnesota Wild team, with a four-game road trip on the horizon before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
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
Matthews was named captain of the Maple Leafs on Aug. 14, taking over for John Tavares, who passed along the role to star forward. Matthews is the 26th captain in the club's history and the first US-born player to wear the "C' for Toronto.
Auston Matthews being named Team USA captain comes as no great surprise but it is a testament to his health as he's looked better in January than any other month this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander spoke about playing for Team Sweden ahead of his team's final home game before the NHL breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off next month. Nylander was named to the team back in the summer as part of the country's 'first six' players and shared that the team has established a way to communicate.
Jared Spurgeon and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the first period, Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.
You can look to John Tavares and Matthew Knies’ imminent returns and hope they can spark the lineup, but this is still a team with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Offence should not be this difficult and they have the raw talent to at least make games interesting. Tonight was far from it.
Auston Matthews will head the United States’ leadership group at the 4 Nations Face-Off. USA Hockey announced on Thursday afternoon that the Maple Leafs captain will be its captain for the event in Montreal and Boston, running from Feb. 12-20. Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers and Charlie McAvoy each will wear an ‘A’ for the United States.
The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a 3-1 decision against the Minnesota Wild at the Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night.
However, the 2024 postseason was injury-riddled for the Maple Leafs who were without key superstars William Nylander and Auston Matthews for parts of the series. Nylander missed the first three contests due to severe migraines while Matthews missed Games 5 and 6 after an undisclosed injury and flu-like symptoms.
Morgan Rielly is struggling through one of his worst seasons as a Leaf.