Sheldon Keefe calls out William Nylander on sluggish play as Islanders CHOKE Leafs 7-2 

Sheldon Keefe was unsatisfied with William Nylander’s play as he couldn’t score a single point in the team’s last three consecutive games.

<strong>Sheldon Keefe calls out William Nylander on sluggish play as Islanders CHOKE Leafs 7-2 </strong>

Sheldon Keefe and William Nylander [Image Credit: Sportsnet/The Toronto Star]

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is yet to come out of his slump days, but it seems the coach is running out of patience. Leafs’ coach Sheldon Keefe calls out the star forward, urging him to bring in his best form as ‘Willy Styles’ didn’t score a point in the team’s last 3 consecutive games.

He has recently changed his lineup, as many think that may be the root of the problems. On the other hand, Keefe is known for his personality and even this time, the coach didn’t mince his words as he called him out after Leafs’ 5-4 victory against rival Ottawa Senators. 

YouTube video

As Stanley Cup season approaches, teams are finalizing their record to grab a spot in the race. The Leafs are no different. Seeing how Nylander’s stale performance affected the team, it’s no doubt the coach is running out of patience. 

FS Video

Related: WATCH – Alex Ovechkin “thrilled” to surpass ‘The White Tornado’ Wayne Gretzky for 40-goal season in NHL history, Twitter reacts

William Nylander continues slump as Islanders throttle Leafs in 7-2 victory

William Nylander [Image Credit: NHL]
William Nylander [Image Credit: NHL]

This season, William Nylander has recorded 79 points in 69 games with 35 goals and 44 assists. In his NHL career, the forward recorded 442 points in 508 games with 172 goals and 250 assists. Recently he’s been in a slump, unable to bring out his top performance in the last three games.

Voicing his expectations, Leafs’ coach Sheldon Keefe stated, “He and I have talked about this”. “I find when the puck is hitting his stick, his feet are not moving to the same degree. He is not attacking. There is a lot more perimeter. There is a lot more getting rid of the puck.”

“I want him to hang onto it. I want him to challenge. I want him to be on the attack. I want to see lots of pace from him. That is when he is at his best.” “That is really it — just get back to doing that. It has been too long since we have seen that consistently from him, but as we have seen through most of the season, it is certainly there”.

Now with the postseason end on the horizon, it’s time for Nylander to give a wake-up call to his consistency, as that would be the key to getting out of his slump. According to Keefe, he needs to give Nylander some verbal wake-up notes to keep the player on track. Whether that would work in this situation or not is yet to see.

It’s Nylander’s 2nd time slowing down his pace in the racing 2022-23 season. As the current lineup stands, Nylander will be playing with Sam Lafferty and Bobby McMann. The other two lineups are Alex Kerfoot, and Calle Jarnkrok with Auston Matthews and the power trio of John Tavares, Michael Bunting, and Mitch Marner. 

In the recent game between Leafs and Islanders at UBS Arena, the team tasted a devastating loss against the Islanders with a score of 7-2. Even without Brock Nelson, the Islanders throttle Leafs ahead of the Stanley Cup season. The Islanders currently hold a 3-point lead for the top wild-card spot.

In case you missed:

Luke Prokop “disappointed” with NHL action following James Reimer pride jersey controversy

Former NHLer Daniel Briere’s son Carson BRANDED with criminal charges for pushing disabled woman’s wheelchair downstairs