Among the NHL teammates who will be on opposite benches during the 4-Nations Face-Off include Toronto Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Matthews, who grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz., will be representing the USA while Nylander will be representing his native Sweden.
Maple Leafs, William Nylander
With the NHL getting ready to shut down soon for the first ever 4 Nations Face-Off, Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander was asked if there were any side bets among teammates that will be going up against each other.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander spoke about playing for Team Sweden ahead of his team's final home game before the NHL breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off next month. Nylander was named to the team back in the summer as part of the country's 'first six' players and shared that the team has established a way to communicate.
It has come to this ahead of the teammates squaring off against each other. Hear it from the horse’s mouth in the video down below:
Here’s a look at the injury report for the Toronto Maple Leafs (30-18-2), which currently has seven players listed, as the Maple Leafs prepare for their matchup with the Minnesota Wild (29-17-4) at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday,
William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Nylander has mastered the art of the breakaway simply from repetition over his 10 seasons in the NHL. The reads, the anticipation, the “highest probability or percentage spot to be on the ice to get a chance” — Nylander has got it all down now, McMann said.
The Wild have struggled since the injuries to these two occurred, winning just four of the 10 games since Brodin was injured, allowing 31.3 shots per game, and ranking 30th in GAA while allowing four or more goals in seven of the 10 outings.
Squaring off with nearly identical records entering Wednesday’s contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs were presented with a key opportunity to get out of a rut against a quality Minnesota Wild team, with a four-game road trip on the horizon before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning was named captain of Sweden. The other two assistant captains are Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mattias Ekholm of the Edmonton Oilers. Finland was the first team in the tournament to name its captain and assistants on Thursday.
Victor Hedman draws the 'C' for Sweden with Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson and Edmonton Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm serving as alternates.