Nylander scoring in ‘Style’ this postseason for Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- It’s “Willy Styles’” world and we’re all just living in it right now.

Just ask Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube.

Willy Styles is the nickname given to Toronto forward William Nylander by Joe Thornton when the two quarantined with a handful of other Maple Leafs teammates in a Toronto-area home in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It suggested that Nylander marches to the beat of his own drum, something the eccentric Thornton would know all about.

Berube has discovered that for himself this season.

When asked after Toronto’s 4-3 victory against the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Wednesday what he’s learned during his first season behind the Maple Leafs bench about Nylander, Berube laughed.

“He just plays. And he doesn't want me to talk to him,” Berube chuckled. “Just leave him alone. I probably should just leave him alone.”

Especially the way he’s playing right now.

Nylander’s second-period goal in Game 2 gave him six for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, ranking him third behind Mikko Rantanen of the Dallas Stars (eight) and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (seven). It’s the most by a Maple Leafs player in a postseason since Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk scored six in the 2004 playoffs, when Nylander was 8 years old.

Now 29, he became the first Toronto player in the past 22 years to score five goals in the span of three playoff games, joining Alexander Mogilny, who accomplished the feat in the first three games of the 2003 conference quarterfinals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

As such, his coach and teammates hope he can keep it up when the series resumes at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 on Friday (7 p.m. ET: MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC), with the Maple Leafs leading the best-of-7 series 2-0.

Toronto can expect a raucous crowd when the defending Stanley Cup champions return home with something to prove. Not that the jeers will rattle Willy Styles. Very little does.

"Nothing gets to him,” Berube said. “He doesn't feel pressure. And I could be wrong, but this is what I see. There's no too big a stage for this guy. He thrives on this stuff, in my opinion, and he looks forward to it, and he wants to be in all those critical situations. When he smells something, he's there.

“He has great, great skill with his hands. He has unreal hands and the ability on his skates, just cutbacks and all that. It's a high-end player, he really is.”

And he does it with flair.

Consider that he has worn the same beige and white suit to the arena for the past three games. He’s scored at least once in each one, all Toronto victories.

“It’s just the one that’s in the front right now,” he said after the game. “We’ll see if [I take it to Florida]. Maybe I’ll think a little bit about it longer when I pack.”

For the record, he was not wearing a shirt during his audience with the media. It’s become a habit with him, one he inherited from Thornton.

“When you are as sexy as we are, why do you need one?” a laughing Thornton told NHL.com during his jersey retirement ceremony in San Jose in December.

It’s just another example of how Willy Styles is comfortable in his own skin.

You can at times see him taking the subway to games in downtown Toronto, with commuters gasping in awe at the sight of him. He’s frequently seen walking his dogs down the street, a once seemingly private person who no longer seems to fear public exposure.

When the Maple Leafs played in Stockholm during the 2023 Global Series in November of that year, he was treated as a rock star and generously accepted it, signing hundreds of autographs at a downtown sporting goods store and doing various interviews with local media and talk shows.

But when the puck drops, it’s time for him to get serious, which is the case right now.

To that end, Nylander, who entered play Thursday tied with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid for second in playoff scoring with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), understands how hard the Panthers are going to come out on home ice.

“It’s tough to play Florida,” he said. “I mean, they are a great team. That next game is going to be a huge battle. Every game has been tight, so that next game is going to be our focus.

“They play an aggressive game and they’re really good at it. I think we’ve gotten some bounces that have gone our way. That’s what happens sometimes.”

Though Nylander might be understated, his teammates continue to be wowed by his performances. Count veteran Max Pacioretty, the former captain of the Montreal Canadiens who’s now playing on the second line with Nylander and John Tavares, as part of that group.

“I’m at a loss for words, because there are just so many words I can use to describe him,” the 36-year-old said. “I mean, he’s just all over it every night, always in a good spot, and works insanely hard. I think that aspect often gets overlooked because, you know, you’re kind of blown away by his skill.

“He’s just playing really really good hockey right now.”

And helping this edition of the Maple Leafs create their own history in the process. Indeed, this is the first time Toronto has had multiple 2-0 best-of-7 series leads during the same postseason in 62 years. It is also just sixth time in franchise history that has happened, 1963, 1962, 1949, 1948 and 1945 being the others.

It’s something that he embraces, even though he might not show it on the outside all the time.

Six years ago, however, he did.

At that time, there was confidence in his strut when he entered the NHL.com interview room at the 2019 NHL/NHLPA European Players Media Tour in Stockholm.

Just like there was in his words when he sat down.

“I’m looking forward to dominate,” he brashly said.

It was pure, unfiltered Willy Styles, right down to the core.

And right now, he's walking the walk after talking the talk.