TAKEAWAYS: Tavares line leads way in dominant Maple Leafs victory

A rather nice bounce-back game by the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

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Some 72 hours after the Leafs were embarrassed by the Nashville Predators on the road, Toronto went about its business at Scotiabank Arena, putting its boot on the necks of the Philadelphia Flyers.

As Max Domi said: “Huge win, man. Did exactly what we wanted to do.”

Our takeaways from the Leafs’ 7-2 victory, one that tied them in points for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers:

THIS IS 40

Another season, another 40 goals for William Nylander after he scored twice.

It’s different in 2024-25: Nylander tied his career-high in 71 games. He played in 82 games when he scored 40 goals last season and did the same two years ago.

“Just trying to do what I’m paid to do,” a shirtless Nylander said post-game, with a shrug. “That’s it.”

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Nylander became the second Swedish player in National Hockey League history to record three consecutive 40-goal seasons. Markus Naslund did it from 2000-03 with the Vancouver Canucks.

“That’s pretty cool, but my focus is only for the playoffs right now,” Nylander said. “That’s fun to accomplish that. I’m playing with great players, but what matters is playoffs.”

And that’s really the only way Nylander should be thinking, right?

The line of Nylander, John Tavares and Bobby McMann combined for 10 points. Nylander also had two assists.

Only Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers has more goals this season than Nylander. Draisaitl, with the Rocket Richard Trophy in his sights, has 49 goals.

Included in Nylander’s four-point night was an assist on a goal by McMann, with the pass coming from behind the Flyers net.

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We asked Tavares: Has he ever had a linemate as patient as Nylander?

“No, no,” Tavares said. “The ability to shrug things off, it’s unbelievable. You never know when something special is going to happen. He has that ability to do something out of nothing, come out of nowhere.

“Most nights he’s dominant on the puck, start to finish and throughout the night, ability to make plays. He’s a lot of fun to play with.”

Coach Craig Berube saw Nylander in a bit of a different light on Tuesday night.

“The goals are one thing,” Berube said. “For me, I thought that he checked really well. He was on top of things, broke plays up, back checked, broke plays up and from defence to offence, he’s so quick with his agility and speed that he creates going the other way right away. He was solid all around.”

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MORE FROM McMANN

Hard to believe now that McMann was a healthy scratch in the season opener, isn’t it?

Actually, it has been that way for a while.

McMann, never drafted, scored his 20th goal of the season.

We’re trying to envision how he might come off the Tavares line with just 11 games remaining in the regular season, but it’s difficult. It’s where he belongs.

“If you told me to start out I’d get that, I’d be happy, but I’m just happy we won more than anything, and we’re feeling good about the team game,” McMann said about reaching the 20-goal milestone for the first time in the NHL.

What part of his game is McMann particularly proud of in becoming an NHL regular?

“My decision-making as far as when to carry the puck and when to maybe dump and try and go get the puck back,” McMann said. “I think that’s a skill that’s sometimes overlooked. When you play with good players, and you play in this league, everybody’s so good that if you can get the puck on your team’s stick in the offensive zone, you have a lot of success.

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“That was something I worked on with the Marlies a little bit with (former coach) Greg Moore, and understanding how you can be effective and how I can carve a role for myself in the NHL. And then it’s watching video, and then trying to get the reps every game and every practice.”

Keep doing that, would be the advice from Berube.

“Quietly goes about his business,” Berube said. “You get pretty consistent play out of him in terms of what he needs to do to be successful.

“He does a lot of things right every game, and they go unnoticed a lot of times. He really does a great job of pushing D back all the time with his speed. I think our style of play is a lot more putting pucks in behind people and going to work. And that suits him very well.”

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JOHNNY HITS THE SPOTS

Tavares scored two goals, putting him at 32.

The consistency that the veteran of 1,173 NHL games continues to marvel in the Leafs dressing room.

“You hear that word thrown around a lot, it’s kind of overrated nowadays,” Domi said. “‘Oh, that guy’s a pro. This guy’s a pro.’

“He’s a pro. He’s the definition of it. The way you prepare, where he recovers, he’s a special guy. We’re very lucky to have him. He’s been around for as long as he has for a reason, and succeeding the way he has for a reason. It’s great to see.”

As Berube goes about putting the finishing touches on his lineup for the playoffs, he probably won’t have to touch the Tavares line. The man in the middle, as great as Nylander is and as effective as McMann can be, is the driver in that.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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