Winning combo
Matthews, Nylander, Hyman are a threat to dominate every time they hop over the boards
As much as Auston Matthews and William Nylander put in the effort to reach their full potential, there’s a crucial factor at play when the two Maple Leafs wunderkinds are on the ice together.
“When players think the same way, the chemistry is there naturally, so that’s why I think (the positive results are) happening,” Nylander said after the Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime on Saturday night.
“The chemistry gets better and better throughout the year and every time you play together, you start to get used to each other’s small actions. It’s a good thing.”
Nylander’s pass to Matthews in overtime — followed by the latter’s finish, beating Carey Price for the winner — was the latest piece of wizardry between the two. Zach Hyman has been a sharp complement on the line since coach Mike Babcock put the three together last season, and as much as some still wonder what Patrick Marleau might accomplish on Matthews’ wing on a regular basis, they’re going to be waiting a while to find out.
There’s little that needs to be said between Matthews, Nylander and Hyman when they’re on the ice. That chemistry mentioned by Nylander, the instincts the three share, make them a threat to dominate each time they go over the boards.
“For the most part we have always been like that, been able to find each other (without being vocal about it),” Matthews said. “The whole dynamic of our line has (gone) pretty well with Hyman and we look for each other out there. We all have our specific role and our main goal is to create offence, score goals and make plays to each other. When we are doing that, working hard and skating both ways and we have the puck, I think it plays to our strengths.”
And then some. Matthews is on quite the run going back to the final month of the 201617 regular season. Including his five goals in five games to start 2017-18, Matthews has scored 14 goals in the past 18 regular-season games, and he has been nothing short of outstanding on the road. Dating to late last March, the Leafs are 6-1-0 in their past seven road games, in which Matthews has nine goals and three assists. Matthews has scored at least one goal in each of those road games.
Next up for the Leafs is a visit to Washington to play the Capitals on Tuesday night at the Capital One Arena (formerly the Verizon Center). It will be the first meeting between the clubs since April, when the upstart Leafs gave the Caps all they could handle in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, eventually being eliminated in six games. Each game was decided by one goal; in each of the final four games of the series, Matthews scored a goal.
What speaks to coach Mike Babcock’s trust in the line as a whole is that the three are in the range of 65% defensive zone starts at even-strength; last year, it was 37% for Matthews.
A small sample size of five games, to be sure, but it’s an indication of what’s to come for the trio. The three have demonstrated they’re more than capable.
In the bigger picture, Nylander’s set-up of Matthews in the extra period, which preceded Matthews’ quick release, gave the Leafs a win in a game that easily could have wound up as a victory for the Canadiens.
That kind of fight-forevery-inch victory, especially in the first half last season, was not always assured.
“It’s experience,” Matthews said. “Making smart plays in tight games, not trying to get too fancy. When we keep it simple, we are able to get the puck in deep and play to our strengths, it’s going to make it pretty difficult for other teams.” We would concur. Yet when Matthews and Nylander do get fancy, and make plays that have observers gasping, the opposition would argue they’re just as difficult to defend.
When players think the same way, the chemistry is there naturally. Leafs winger William Nylander