Nylander’s edge in offensive zone key to dominant start to season

Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe doesn’t flinch when William Nylander gathers the puck at the opposition’s blue-line and surveys the

offensive zone landscape.

More often than not, Nylander is on the verge of creating a scoring chance, if not a goal, for the Leafs.

In this eye-opening season on the part of Nylander, which includes at least one point in all 17 of the Toronto’s games, few teams have

been able to put a lid on the 27-year-old right-winger once he winds up high in the offensive zone.

“It’s a dangerous area to be in,” Keefe said after the Leafs returned to practice on Wednesday at the Ford Performance Centre

following their two-win trek in Sweden. “Not many players can play there and thrive because there’s risks that come with it. You turn

the puck over in that space and it’s a pretty dangerous opportunity going the other way.

“You have to find the timing, find the pocket and then you have to be able to usually evade a check. And that’s what he does really well.

Mitch (Marner) is also good at that, when guys come to close on him, he’s comfortable challenging one on one and protecting the puck

and getting it into safety, if not into an area where we can generate a scoring chance.”

With 27 points in 17 games, Nylander was tied for sixth in NHL scoring before the league’s 14-game schedule got underway on

Wednesday. If Nylander records a point in the Leafs’ next game on Friday afternoon in Chicago against the Blackhawks, he will

become the first active player to start a season with a point in 18 consecutive games. That would also tie Darryl Sittler (1977-78) and

Ed Olczyk (1989-90) for the second-longest point streak in club history.

Nylander’s edge in offensive zone key to dominant start to season…