On a night when the Toronto Maple Leafs desperately needed a spark, they got two - and they burned bright. William Nylander, in his return to Calgary, put on a clinic.
Joseph Woll, between the pipes, slammed the door shut. And while the Leafs walked away with a 4-2 win over the Flames, their first regulation victory since January 10, the performance as a whole left plenty to unpack.
Let’s start with Nylander. From the opening faceoff, he looked like a man on a mission.
On the game’s first shot, he broke through with a breakaway goal - the product of a sharp read by John Tavares, who intercepted a careless pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and sprung Nylander in alone. From there, Nylander didn’t let up.
He notched two primary assists, rang one off the post, and controlled 66 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5. Simply put, this was his best game of the calendar year, and a reminder of just how much Toronto missed him during his 18-game absence due to a groin injury.
“He’s so dynamic. Every time he’s on the ice, he’s a threat to score,” Woll said after the game. “It’s a big confidence boost having him out there.”
It wasn’t just the numbers - it was the energy. Nylander was flying, driving play, and making life easier for his linemates, Tavares and Matias Maccelli.
But while that trio was buzzing, the rest of the Leafs didn’t exactly match their pace. Toronto was outshot 30-22 overall, and the first period was largely uneventful outside of Nylander’s goal.
The line of Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann, and Max Domi struggled at 5-on-5, getting outshot 9-2 and out-chanced 21-8. Calle Jarnkrok, still in the lineup ahead of young Easton Cowan, barely made an impact.
Still, Nylander stayed focused. “I thought our line was playing really well. We generated a lot of chances, and we want to build off of that,” he said postgame.
The Leafs built a 3-0 lead after Troy Stecher added to the tally, but that cushion didn’t last long. Calgary pushed back late in the second period, with Nazem Kadri scoring and then setting up Joel Farabee to cut the deficit to one. Suddenly, the game had some bite - and that’s when Woll took over.
Nylander nearly iced it with another dazzling setup for Stecher and then rang another shot off the post. But with the Flames pressing, Woll turned into a human highlight reel.
He robbed Yegor Sharangovich with a sprawling save that looked destined for the postgame reel. Sharangovich had the puck on his stick with a wide-open net, but Woll dove across to make a ridiculous glove stop.
“I didn’t know what happened, I just dove,” Woll said. “And thank God, it didn’t go in.”
The Saddledome boards had a little extra spring in them, apparently, because Woll had to make another fingertip save moments later. On the next shift, Philippe Myers bailed out his goalie by sweeping a loose puck off the goal line. It was that kind of night - one where Woll’s reflexes and grit were the difference.
Nylander summed it up best: “Amazing. He’s been incredible.”
Now, the Leafs wrap up their road swing against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. That’s a different beast entirely.
Toronto will need more than two standout performances to come out of that one with points. This season has been a grind, and while Nylander leads the team in scoring despite the time missed, and Woll continues to deliver big moments, the team’s underlying play remains a concern.
Anthony Stolarz will get the start in Edmonton, giving Woll a well-earned breather. But this next game might offer a clearer picture of where the Leafs stand as the Olympic break looms. Beating Vancouver in a shootout and relying on two standout performances to edge out Calgary won’t cut it against top-tier opponents.
Good players can cover up bad process - for a night. But for the Leafs to make any real noise this season, they’ll need more than just flashes of brilliance. They’ll need a team game that matches the individual talent.