Nylander scores two, Stolarz shines in Maple Leafs’ win over Lightning
William Nylander had two goals and an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Monday night.
Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty and Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto (4-2-0). Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves. Mitch Marner had two assists.
Nick Paul and Brayden Point replied for Tampa (3-2-0). Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 14 shots before getting the hook midway through the second period. Jonas Johansson made 14 saves in relief. Victor Hedman had two assists.
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Nylander opened the scoring early in the first and put Toronto up 3-1 midway through the second.
“We came out pretty good,” Nylander said. “We played quick.”
Pacioretty stretched the lead to 4-1 from well out to end Vasilevskiy’s night before Knies added another on Johansson for a four-goal advantage through 40 minutes.
The Leafs beat the Lightning in the first round of the 2023 playoffs for the Original Six franchise’s only series victory in the NHL’s salary cap era.
Knies said seeing a player of Nylander’s offensive pedigree emphasize the game’s finer, less-glamorous points gets everyone’s attention.
“Skated well, defended well, made some plays, got pucks on net,” Knies said. “He has incredible skill, but when he does those simple things like that, it’s contagious.”
Stolarz — the team’s other star Monday with his performance — has watched Nylander’s career from afar until this season.
“His poise, his confidence with the puck,” Stolarz said of what’s jumped out about the slick forward’s approach. “He can absolutely fire a puck. He’s just so smart in practice. He’s always pushing and pulling in. It’s just a tough release to read.
“Happy he’s on my side now.”
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Stolarz improved to 3-2-0 with a .938 save percentage and 1.79 goals-against average as fellow goaltender Joseph Woll continues to work his way back from a groin injury that’s kept him out of the regular-season lineup.
Craig Berube said before the game Woll could return to action Tuesday when Toronto visits the Columbus Blue Jackets.
