William Nylander says the Toronto Maple Leafs finally took matters into their own hands during Wednesday's comeback victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Maple Leafs entered the contest on a four-game skid and trailed the winless Blackhawks by two goals in the first period before mounting a come-from-behind win capped by Nylander's overtime tally.
"Time to wake up. Enough feeling sorry for ourselves. Like nobody is going to get us out of this," Nylander said postgame, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
"We needed to up the battle."
Toronto looked listless in recent lopsided losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. The team appeared to be on the same path in the Windy City until a couple of unnamed players ignited the club during the first intermission.
"I think (they) got us, quite frankly, pissed off," said goaltender Jack Campbell. "I think that's what sparked us. Love seeing the passion and love seeing guys come through on the ice with it too. And, you know, everybody was battling."
The Maple Leafs are now 3-4-1 on the season. They return to the ice Saturday versus the Detroit Red Wings.
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