Nylander gets first points in Maple Leafs win against Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- William Nylander got his first points of the season with two assists for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 4-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Nylander was playing his third game since signing a six-year contract worth $6.9 million annually Dec. 1.
"It gets you feeling good, and playing well and creating chances is important," the forward said. "I can build off of it. I'm just trying to get back as fast as possible. Every game is getting better and better."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes game highlights]
Patrick Marleau and John Tavares scored third-period goals, and Frederik Andersen made 29 saves for Toronto (21-9-1), which had lost two in a row.
Justin Williams scored, and Petr Mrazek made 25 saves for Carolina (13-12-4).

"We said it before the game, that we were playing one of the best offensive teams in the League and we needed everyone on board tonight," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "They didn't have to play great, but everyone needed a good game, and I don't think we got that."
Tyler Ennis gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 8:35 of the first period when he put in a loose puck at the right post.
"I thought we started real good," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "We came out and played. A good goal for Ennis. I thought we had a real good penalty kill tonight (4-for-5)."
The Hurricanes tied it 1-1 on the power play at 12:44 of the second period. Sebastian Aho fed Williams, who slipped behind the defense and scored inside the far post.
Morgan Rielly scored on a delayed penalty to give Toronto a 2-1 lead at 13:51 when his centering pass deflected off the stick of Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

"I would have liked to have put it in myself," said Rielly, whose 10th goal is an NHL career high. "It's all good."
Toronto pushed the lead to 3-1 at 5:49 of the third period when Nylander set up Marleau with a pass across the slot.
"I just saw him driving the far post," Nylander said. "I didn't really have anything to shoot at, so I just floated a pass to him."
Mitchell Marner circled the net and passed to a wide-open Tavares to make it 4-1 at 8:29. Marner has 13 assists in the past eight games.
Toronto blocked 19 shots, led by defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who had five.
"We knew their game plan a little bit," Andersen said. "They want to throw everything at the net, and we came ready to block some shots and be in the lanes for that."
The Hurricanes are 2-4-1 in their past seven games.
"We're not committed enough to doing it every single time we're out there," Williams said. "That was a tough one because we were right there."

They said it

"[Nylander] is a great player. There was never a doubt when he came in he was going to be ready. He's in good shape and he's very talented. It's just a matter of time. I'm sure he's going to build off it from here." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly
"We had that game 1-1 and we were hanging in there, but we lost some battles on the walls and the second goal deflated us. The third one broke our backs. The bench just felt like that was it, and it was." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Need to know

Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury. He missed the prior four games with a concussion. ... Tavares played his 700th NHL game. He has 654 points (291 goals, 363 assists). ... Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews extended his point streak to six games (six goals, five assists) since returning from a shoulder injury. ... Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner has a five-game point streak (one goal, seven assists). ... Every Toronto skater had a positive plus-minus, except Ron Hainsey, who was even. ... The Hurricanes have scored one goal or fewer in five of the past seven games. ... Aho has a point on eight of Carolina's 16 power-play goals (one goal, seven assists). ... Rielly scored nine goals in 82 games in 2015-16.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SUN, SNO, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: At the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, FS-CR, NHL.TV)