After a three game sweep of Bridgeport in the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Toronto Marlies were pushed to the brink in round 2 but advanced to the Eastern Conference Final after a 4-3 victory over Albany in Game 7 on Monday.
Through 10 games, Toronto has been the beneficiary of a diversified offense, with defenseman Connor Carrick leading the club and league with 14 points and forwards Josh Leivo, Mark Arcobello and Connor Brown tied with eight points.
Conspicuous by his absence among the scoring leaders is William Nylander, who has just six points in the post-season and at times has been barely noticeable.
The 19-year-old center led the American Hockey League in scoring with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists in 27 games) before departing for the 2016 World Junior in late December. After missing over a month with a concussion and a bout of appendicitis, Nylander returned to the Marlies and was still effective at the AHL level (4 goals, 7 assists in 11 games), as well as registering 13 points with the Leafs in March and April, but did not appear to be as dominating than prior to the injuries.
Marlies center William Nylander in action during Game 7 against Albany on Monday. The Leafs 2014 top pick had just one point in the final three games of the Devils series.
Image courtesy of Christian Bonin at TSGPhoto
Nylander missed the opening game of the Albany series with an undisclosed injury/illness and was held off the scoreboard by the tough Devils defense in Game 2, but scored an impressive go-ahead goal in Game 3, which would have been the game winner if Toronto had not surrendered a game-tying short-handed goal in the final minute.
After registering two power play assists in a 7-2 blowout in Game 4, Nylander was held scoreless in Games 5 and 6, prompting Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe to call him out.
"I need Willie to be a lot more competitive, with and without the puck." Keefe said. "He's (playing with his) foot off the gas quite a bit when we don't have the puck and as a result, we are not getting it nearly enough when he's out there."
It appeared that Nylander was running on fumes in Game 7, as the 2014 top pick registered no shots on goal and was generally ineffective in creating offensive opportunities until notching a secondary assist on Carrick's go ahead goal.
"(Nylander) had ups and downs like a lot of our guys." Keefe said on Sportsnet's Hockey Central Tuesday. "He took a little bit of a step backwards after (Game 3) and I thought in Game 7 was as competitive as I've seen him."
With news regarding injuries at top secret levels during playoff time, it is impossible to discover whether the young center is worn down from his first full season in North America, is playing hurt, has had a recurring bout with appendicitis or just cannot shake loose of the tighter checking conducive to playoff hockey.
One thing is certain, the Marlies will need a productive William Nylander if they hope to fulfill their dream of a Calder Cup Championship.
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