Craig Berube Grants William Nylander's Wish After His Dominant Performance vs. Flames
After Toronto's 6-3 victory over Calgary, William Nylander had only one wish after scoring a hat-trick and Craig Berube decided to grant it as a much-deserved reward.
With the news they would be without team MVP Mitch Marner ahead of Tuesday's matchup against the Calgary Flames, the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to have a strong performance in order to weather the storm. Thanks to a William Nylander hat-trick and a complete team effort, the Maple Leafs held on for a 6-3 victory.
It was Nylander's 2nd career hat-trick and given how hard he worked, he had only one wish afterward; a break.
So his head coach decided to roleplay as Genie from Aladdin, as he granted Nylander's wish and cancelled Wednesday's practice in order to give everyone a chance to rest.
Maple Leafs Cancel Practice After William Nylander's Stellar Performance
It's quite the reward for not only Nylander, but for the team after a great performance against a Calgary team who just wouldn't stop fighting. Bobby McMann, Matthews Knies and John Tavares added the other trifecta of goals, and Toronto set themselves up nicely for a Thursday matchup with Seattle.
Nylander's performance pushes his goal total to 33, leaving him currently second in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl. He did it in every way possible as well; first with a one-timer, then a blistering wrister, and finally a lazy empty netter.
It was exactly the type of performance needed as Toronto heads into the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Giving them a lot of momentum with a two week break will give the team a lot of confidence coming back. It also gives Nylander a huge confidence boost as he tries to help Sweden take home the victory in the tournament.
This season, Nylander has 33 goals and 22 assists in 53 games (being one of only three Leafs to play in every game) and is shooting a blistering 18.1% on the year. He is in the first year of his massive eight-year extension he signed last season.
It's a well-deserved day off for the Maple Leafs and William Nylander, and it's a great chance for the team to decompress before heading into Seattle where Nylander will look to continue his goal-scoring flurry.
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