The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost back-to-back games, and coach Craig Berube has called out star forward William Nylander.
Nylander has just 3 shots on goal through 3 games, which isn’t enough for the star forward. Although Nylander does have a goal and 3 assists, Berube wants more from the star player and sent him a stern message after Monday’s loss.
“Willy needs more shots,” Berube said after Monday’s loss. “He doesn’t have enough shots. In Detroit, he didn’t have many. He had one or two tonight. He needs to attack more, needs to shoot more. He’s got to get on the inside more. We need more out of him.
Berube admits he isn’t sure why Nylander is shooting the puck more, but he said he plans to talk to Nylander about why he hasn’t been more aggressive.
“There are shifts and times when he is skating, but it is just not enough,” Berube added. “It is a little bit of the new linemates, but I don’t know exactly what it is. I’ll have a conversation with him and see where he is at and what is going on.”
Nylander will get a chance to be more aggressive and shoot the puck more on Tuesday when the Maple Leafs host the Nashville Predators.
Maple Leafs Can Take a Lot From Loss
Despite Toronto losing back-to-back games, the Maple Leafs believe there are plenty of positives to take away.
Toronto fought back from being down 2-0 on Monday, which the team is happy about. Although the Maple Leafs did fall short, Auston Matthews believes there is a lot of positives to take away.
“I thought it was good game,” Matthews said. “That’s definitely more the style of play and the way we want to compete through 60 minutes, the type of game that we want to play. It was a good hockey game, I thought we played well. There’s going to be nights like that where you come up on the wrong side of it but I think there’s lots we can take from this game.”
Berube, meanwhile, was also happy with the team’s effort, despite losing their second straight game.
“It was a good, solid 60 minutes, in my opinion. I thought we controlled the play,” Berube said postgame. “There were plenty of opportunities to score. It didn’t go in enough. That is the bottom line. We probably shouldn’t have given up the 2-on-1 goal.”
Toronto is off to a 1-2 start.
Nylander ‘Thankful’ to be Playing for Toronto
Berube called out Nylander in large part due to how good he can be offensively.
The Maple Leafs coach wants Nylander to control the play more, which he is capable of doing.
Nylander, meanwhile, is also a leader for Toronto and is thankful to be playing for the Maple Leafs.
“I’m thankful to play here, to live here. I’ve done it my whole career. It’s all I’ve ever known,” Nylander told NHL.com. “Giving back and helping people that need help, I think that’s very special. I’ve always been like that. I mean, I’m thankful for what I have and, you know, share a little bit.”
Nylander is in the second year of his eight-year, $92 million deal.
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