Nylander: Hat trick in Calgary 'super special'

Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander had a night to remember during his team's 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Nylander led the way with his second career hat trick, which came on the eight-year anniversary of his first one. The Swedish winger was also born in Calgary while his father, Michael, played for the Flames.

"Obviously it's super special," he said postgame. "Born here and scoring my second career hat trick eight years after my first one is pretty wild. It'll be a special one."

Nylander's first three-goal game came in a 6-5 road victory over the Boston Bruins on Feb. 4, 2017. He had 32 two-goal outings between then and Tuesday night.

The 28-year-old said he had "no clue" that it'd been eight years on the dot, adding that the timing was "pretty insane."

"I didn't really expect that to happen tonight," Nylander said. "I mean, I've had a lot of other games where I've had two goals and not been able to score. It was nice that it finally went in."

Nylander leads Toronto with 33 tallies in 53 contests so far this season and is on pace for his first-ever 50-goal season.

Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll wasn't surprised to see his teammate erupt against the Flames.

"I was just laughing," he said. "Yesterday in practice, he scored on me every time he shot on me, so as soon as he got the puck on the two-on-one, I'm like, 'There's no question he's gonna score.'

"He's a special player. Any time the puck's in his hands, he's dangerous."

The Maple Leafs won both their games in Alberta, starting with a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Forward Bobby McMann scored in both contests to reach 16 goals on the season, a new career high.

McMann said he's trying to learn everything he can from Nylander.

"He makes it look easy every time," he said. "It's crazy. Sometimes he just holds that shot or finds those little spots just above the pad or glove there."

He added, "I think that's what I've watched the most, is how he kind of baits the goalie for a half second. ... I think just he timing of when he releases the puck is something I'm trying to pick up on."

Nylander said he wanted to celebrate his hat trick with a day off in Seattle on Wednesday, and Toronto head coach Craig Berube granted his wish by canceling practice, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was sidelined versus Calgary due to a lower-body injury, and his status for Thursday's clash with the Kraken is up in the air.

"I don't think it's serious. ... He was better today, so that was a good sign," Berube said.