Nylander fitting in at centre
William Nylander didn’t look out of place at centre for the Maple Leafs in their 8- 1 crushing of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday afternoon.
Nylander scored in the third period and won six of his 12 faceoffs against a Carolina team that won 38 of the 65 draws in the game.
However, fans of the Leafs might not want to get overly accustomed to seeing Nylander in the middle. At least not yet.
“We think he has a skill to be a centre, to transport the puck, to shoot the puck, to make plays,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said before the game. “The part that we have not seen is his ability to play without the puck in his own zone.”
That, to be sure, is not out of the ordinary in the National Hockey League maturing process for a 21- year- old, no matter where he might have played in the past.
“I would bet you on every ( NHL) team the majority of the forwards were centres, probably eight of the 12,” Babcock said. “They come up and they end up on the wing.
“It takes a few years to figure out the league and learn how to play hard and learn how to play without the puck so you don’t spend the whole time just standing there watching the merry- go- round.
“That’s part of the process for ( Nylander). That’s why we’ve tried to give him more time to be prepared for that.”
When does Babcock envision Nylander evolving into a full- time centre?
“I’m not sure it’s even this next year or even next year, we will see what happens,” Babcock said.
Said Zach Hyman, who skated on the line with Nylander and Patrick Marleau on Tuesday: “( Nylander) is a great skater, and when Willie gets moving through the natural zone, he creates space for everybody, so if he is skating like that, it’s a good thing.”
MATTHEWS ON TRIP TO COLUMBUS
Auston Matthews missed a fifth consecutive game with an upperbody injury, but apparently is getting closer to returning to the Leafs lineup.
After the Leafs beat the Hurricanes, Babcock said Matthews would be making the trip to Columbus, but did not indicate whether Matthews could go in against the Blue Jackets on Wednesday night. It’s unlikely, given that Matthews has had not a full practice with the team. Will Matthews need to participate in a practice before playing?
“The way the schedule works out, ( the Leafs’ sport science and medical personnel) is going to tell me he needs a practice,” Babcock said before the Leafs beat the Hurricanes.
Matthews skated on his own on Tuesday morning, the third day in a row he has done so.
“It looks to me like he is getting ready to go,” Babcock said. “I’ve answered the same question every day here.
“When they tell me he is ready, he is ready. In the meantime, he looks good, I talked to him, he seems good.”
The Leafs improved to 6- 3 in games this season that Matthews has missed.