Nylander’s Rocket Fuel: Star Forward Heats Up in Richard Trophy Race
Maple Leafs winger William Nylander is firmly in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, but when asked about his position in the scoring race, it was very clear his priorities are elsewhere.
The Maple Leafs were unfortunately shelled by the New York Islanders on Saturday night, dropping a 6-3 decision to the road team, showcasing their tired legs on the second half of a back-to-back.
At least one Leaf showed up to play on Saturday, however, as William Nylander produced his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season against the Isles. The Leafs needed those goals in the absence of Auston Matthews, who has landed back on the shelf after re-aggrivating an injury from earlier this season, which cost him 9 games in November.
The significance of these goals is obvious. With his 23rd goal of the season, Nylander is sitting behind only Leon Draisaitl in the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy Race. Draisaitl scored his 24th goal of the year in an OT win over San Jose on Saturday.
When asked about his awareness of the Rocket race following the loss to the Islanders, Nylander showed that he is indeed tracking it, but he also revealed that it’s not high on his list of priorities.
‘I know Leon [Draisaitl] has 23 goals or whatever, but that’s not what I’m thinking about.’
Nylander is currently on pace to score 56 goals, which will give him a very good opportunity to win the award, but everyone knows that the only thing that really matters in Toronto is playoff success.
Nylander is coming off of back-to-back 40-goal seasons, so he’s no stranger to being a high volume scorer. However, going from 40 goals to 56 goals would be a tremendous jump in goal production.
Judging by how well Draisaitl is playing right now, Nylander will need every one of those 56 goals to have a shot at his first career Rocket Richard Trophy.
