Nylander shakes illness, McKenna lifts Leafs past Sharks

Monday's game day in Toronto opened with bad news. Before the morning skate even started, the Leafs' second-best forward was off the ice.

Chris Johnston

@reporterchris

William Nylander is ill and won't participate in this morning's #leafs skate

The Leafs had already called up Vinni Lettieri and goalie Artur Akhtyamov that morning, and with Nylander out, Lettieri got slotted right in on a line with Sissons and McKenna. Bobrovsky took the starter's net. The rest of the morning lines show how much got shuffled to cover the hole.

Mark Masters

@markhmasters

Lines at Leafs skate Groulx* - Matthews - Roslovic Cowan - Paul - Marchenko McKenna  - Sissons - Lettieri   Duhaime - Blueger - MacEwen McCabe - Raddysh Rielly - Stecher Ekman-Larsson - Blankenburg Rifai Bobrovsky starts Stolarz  Akhtyamov *Nylander absent (illness)

Jim Hiller called Nylander a game-time decision and said Akhtyamov would back up Bobrovsky against San Jose and Stolarz the next night in Columbus. With the Leafs on a back-to-back, a skid to snap and their winger sick, nobody in the room looked worried. Auston Matthews basically called his shot for him.

Mark Masters

@markhmasters

Auston Matthews on William Nylander dealing with an illness: "I think he's gonna be great tonight (🙂). It's usually how it goes with him. So I don't think any of us are too worried." @BarDown

Matthews knows his guy. Nylander was on the ice for warmups, back on a line with Marchenko and Nick Paul, and Lettieri stayed in for his long-awaited Leafs debut. San Jose went with Yaroslav Askarov in net, so the night set up as a goalie duel with plenty of storylines around it: Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa playing in front of the seats he cheered from as a kid, and Ivar Stenberg against the team that passed on him.

Nylander didn't play like a guy who'd been in bed all day. Toronto controlled the early stretch, and his best look came on a 2-on-1 right as a Sharks power play ended.

Curtis Pashelka

@CurtisPashelka

Askarov with a big save on Nylander on a 2-on-1 as the Sharks' power play ended. He has five saves in the first 10 minutes. The Sharks have not been very good with the puck so far

San Jose scored first anyway. Mason Marchment was left all alone in front at 13:54 of the 1st, and he went to the backhand to beat Bobrovsky. The Leafs then got a 5-on-3 and couldn't do anything with it, so it was 1-0 Sharks after 20. That's where the Leafs could have panicked and started forcing plays. They didn't, and the Sharks kept taking penalties until it cost them. A too-many-men bench minor late in the 2nd put Toronto on the power play, and Matthews needed 8 seconds.

Curtis Pashelka

@CurtisPashelka

The Sharks played with fire all period, took a bad penalty, and San Ramon-born Auston Matthews tied the game 1-1 with 11 seconds left in the second period. I've forgotten how many goals the Sharks have now given up in the final 5 minutes of a period.

Tied 1-1 going into the 3rd, the Leafs got another power play and the 19-year-old took over. At 4:56, McKenna handled the puck like it was on a string and put Toronto ahead.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

MCKENNA FOR THE LEAD!

Nick Paul iced it with an empty-netter in the final minute. Matthews finished with a goal and 2 assists, Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his first home win as a Leaf, and Askarov stopped 28 on the other end to keep San Jose in it until late. Afterward, Hiller pointed at the other unit that won this game: the penalty kill, which leads the league.

Terry Koshan 🇺🇦

@koshtorontosun

Hiller on the #Leafs' PK, sitting at No. 1 in the NHL at 96.9% (31 for 32), run by assistant coach John Gruden: "He has had a great plan and the guys have executed it."

31 for 32 is a ridiculous number this deep into October, and John Gruden deserves credit for it. Bobrovsky summed the night up the way a goalie would: they stayed patient, didn't get greedy chasing offense, and let the Sharks' penalties give them the game.

Terry Koshan 🇺🇦

@koshtorontosun

Bobrovsky: "Strong game. We didn't open up when we were down 1-0, we didn't cheat the game toward the offence. We just be patient and wait for our opportunity, and when it’s the power play, we're able to score. It was a good solid performance." #Leafs

So the sick guy played, the kid scored the winner and the skid is over. There's no time to enjoy it, though. Toronto is in Columbus tomorrow with Stolarz in net and Akhtyamov backing up, and we'll see whether Nylander actually feels better on Tuesday or whether Monday was just him doing his usual thing.