The Toronto Maple Leafs have revealed news on star forward William Nylander ahead of Monday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
Per TSN’s Mark Masters, head coach Jim Hiller said that Nylander is a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Sharks due to an illness.
“Jim Hiller says William Nylander is a game-time decision tonight,” Masters wrote on his X.
Maple Leafs Juggle Lineup With William Nylander Out
With Nylander being held out of the team’s Monday morning skate due to his illness, the Maple Leafs juggled the team’s lineup at practice, putting Bo Groulx on the team’s top line with captain Auston Matthews and winger Jack Roslovic.
Per Masters, this is what the Maple Leafs’ lineup looks like tonight, barring Nylander being able to return if he is healthy enough to play.
“Lines at Leafs skate
Groulx* – Matthews – Roslovic
Cowan – Paul – Marchenko
McKenna – Sissons – Lettieri
Duhaime – Blueger – MacEwen
McCabe – Raddysh
Rielly – Stecher
Ekman-Larsson – Blankenburg
Rifai
Bobrovsky starts
Stolarz
Akhtyamov
*Nylander absent (illness)”
Groulx* – Matthews – Roslovic Cowan – Paul – Marchenko McKenna – Sissons – Lettieri Duhaime – Blueger – MacEwen
McCabe – Raddysh Rielly – Stecher Ekman-Larsson – Blankenburg Rifai
Bobrovsky starts Stolarz Akhtyamov
*Nylander absent (illness)
William Nylander This Season
If Nylander can’t go tonight, it would be a huge hit for the Maple Leafs, as he has had a terrific start to the season for the team.
So far this season, Nylander has played in all nine of Toronto’s games, scoring five goals and 12 points, which puts him just one point behind Matthews for the team lead in points.
The 30-year-old Nylander was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs with the eighth overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and he has spent his entire big-league career as a member of the Maple Leafs.
In 759 career regular-season games for Toronto, Nylander has scored 297 goals and 703 points for the team. He has also added 26 goals and 58 points in 62 career playoff games.
He is the team’s second-best forward behind Matthews, so if he’s out tonight against San Jose, it will make things that much tougher for Toronto, who are looking to bounce back following an embarrassing loss on home ice against the New York Islanders on Saturday night when they lost 4-1 and looked all out of sorts on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Maple Leafs Reveal William Nylander News Before Sharks Game