William Nylander shrugs off slump as Leafs keep losing

Nylander faced the media Thursday morning and gave the diagnosis himself: he just isn't touching the puck enough.

Mark Masters

@markhmasters

William Nylander: "Got to try to get the puck more on my stick. I'm skating around there with no puck on my stick, so that makes it hard to generate. But trying to work without the puck, that's what you can do when you don't have the puck on your stick" t.co/klDg2cXHF0

That's a fair read, and an honest one. Nylander is at his best when the puck is on his stick and the D-man in front of him is backing up. Right now he's chasing. In Tuesday's loss to Colorado he went minus-4 and didn't register a single shot on goal, according to TSN, and TSN also has him at minus-7 across the 4-game skid. Then someone used the word slump, and Nylander had a little fun with it.

Mark Masters

@markhmasters

William Nylander on dealing with goal slump at home: "Slump? I mean, I scored against Montreal (🙂) so it's not that slumpy. Yeah, I want to score, I want to produce but, I mean, having a tough time finding those chances" t.co/JPRYK3vydh

He has a point, sort of. TSN has him at 11 goals and 22 points, tied for the team lead in goals and 2nd on the team in points, so this isn't a guy who forgot how to score. But the Montreal goal was on Saturday, and since then the Leafs have kept losing, 6 of their last 7 overall. TSN also says Nylander has been on the ice for 25 even-strength goals against, more than any other forward in the league. That's the number his critics care about, more than the goal total.

Jim Hiller, in year 1 behind the Toronto bench after GM John Chayka hired him away from the Kings this offseason, didn't bury his guy. He also didn't pretend everything is fine. John Tavares, who centers Nylander on the 2nd line and has been scoreless since coming back from a lower-body injury, put part of it on himself.

Mark Masters

@markhmasters

Hiller on Nylander: "Heart's in the right place. He knows he's not playing his best. That's obvious ... I think he's maybe overthinking a little bit right now. That's what I see" Tavares: "On me to play better myself & to get more out of him ..." t.co/UDcq8d02wt

Overthinking is the gentle version. The harsher version came out of Daily Faceoff on Thursday, where Steve Peters went after the stuff Nylander's critics have been on him about for years: what he does without the puck and whether he shows up when it gets hard.

Daily Faceoff

@DailyFaceoff

Can William Nylander be relied upon in tough moments? Steve Peters questions Nylander's defensive effort & compete level. Full debate on Morning Cuppa Hockey ☕️

This is the Nylander argument Toronto has been having since he got there. The skill is undeniable and the goals usually come in bunches. When they don't, nobody talks about the other 3 zones. Right now he's on a line with a center who's still finding his legs and a fresh call-up in Ryan Tverberg, which is a tough spot for a winger who needs the puck to do anything. The quickest fix is probably Hiller's: stop thinking, get the puck back, shoot it.

Next up is Minnesota on Thursday, and TSN has the Wild 2nd overall in the NHL, so this won't be a soft landing. If you bet props, keep an eye on Nylander's shot count there. Zero shots against Colorado makes his shots-on-goal line look a lot more interesting than his goal-scorer price. If he's getting 4 or 5 looks, the goals will come back. If he's on the ice for a couple more against while the Leafs drop a 5th straight, the questions about his effort get louder, and the next ones go to Hiller.