Mitch Marner may grab most of the headlines due to his ongoing 22-game point streak, but the Toronto Maple Leafs were sure to praise William Nylander after his five-point performance propelled them past the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.
"Last season, (Nylander) set a new standard for himself. … He's got a long ways to go still in terms of what his potential is and what he can do," head coach Sheldon Keefe said after his side's 5-4 overtime win. "You're seeing that. He's producing at a higher clip, he's been very consistent to start the season here.
"To me, I think Willy can and should be in that top, elite tier of players in the league. He's working his way there."
Keefe noted that the likes of Auston Matthews and Marner are already in that tier, and that Toronto's star trio will only continue to push each other to reach "greater heights."
Saturday's contest was a banner night for Nylander, who scored two goals and three assists to eclipse his previous career high of three points in a single game.
His first goal of the game helped Marner extend his point streak, and he also recorded an assist on the overtime winner.
Goalie Matt Murray was thankful for Nylander's performance after the back-and-forth affair.
"He's just a stud. He's incredibly gifted, he works hard," Murray said. "I've said this a bunch of times, but he seems to win a ton of 50-50 battles, and I think that goes to his strength and just his athleticism and his dedication to win those battles.
"He gets a lot of second pucks, a lot of second chances, and obviously tonight, he carries our team. He's basically the reason we get two points. Heck of a player."
Nylander, 26, leads the team with 17 goals in 29 contests. He's on pace for a career-high 48 tallies and 93 points but said he isn't focused on potential totals.
"Look, you just want to do better than the year before, always trying to get better," he said. "Whatever that number ends up being, I'm not too worried about it right now."
Drafted by the Leafs eighth overall in 2014, Nylander has 376 points in 468 career NHL games, all with Toronto.
Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.