William Nylander, Joseph Woll rescue Maple Leafs from rough process in win vs. Flames

It can often be reductionist to chalk up a victory to two superlative performances, but that’s exactly what happened on Monday evening. William Nylander was dominant during a homecoming game, while Joseph Woll shut the door, as the Toronto Maple Leafs secured a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. It was Toronto’s first regulation win since January 10, and while Nylander and Woll were excellent on Monday, the team displayed some poor processing throughout the night.

Nylander was on a mission from the opening shift, scoring on a breakaway during the game’s first shot. John Tavares picked off an errant pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and sprung Nylander on goal, who made no mistake. Nylander was playing with exceptional confidence throughout the game, and finished with the aforementioned breakaway marker, two primary assists, a hit post, and a 66 percent share of the expected goals on 5-on-5. This was his finest performance of the 2026 calendar year and a firm reminder of what the Maple Leafs have been missing as Nylander has battled through a groin injury, missing 18 games in total this season.

“He’s so dynamic. Everytime he’s on the ice, he’s a threat to score. It’s a big confidence boost having him out there,” Woll said of Nylander post-game.

A Willy nice start!!!

🎥: TSN | NHL

Nylander was zipping all over the ice, and while Tavares and Matias Maccelli certainly benefited from the dynamic winger throughout the game, the same couldn’t be said of the team overall. Toronto was outshot 30-22 by Calgary and Nylander’s goal was the only event in a lowly competitive first period. Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann and Max Domi were outshot 9-2 at 5-on-5, while being out-chanced 21-8. Calle Jarnkrok, who remains in the lineup over Easton Cowan, barely touched the puck.

“I thought our line was playing really well. We generated a lot of chances, and we want to build off of that,” Nylander said post-game.

Stech caps off a dominant sequence!!!

🎥: TSN | NHL

Shortly after Troy Stecher provided the Maple Leafs with a 3-0 lead, the Flames tilted the game back in their favour, scoring two quick goals to end the second frame: Nazem Kadri put the Flames on the board, before setting up Joel Farabee for a goal of his own, entering the second intermission. And from there onwards, the game truly belonged to Nylander and Woll.

Nylander almost set up Stecher for another golden chance, then continued to embark upon a one-man expedition. He hit the post, which would’ve sealed the game, and then Woll effectively played the closer role.

Woll made a marvellous save on Yegor Sharangovich to keep the game tied at 3-3. As the puck ricocheted out of the corner, Sharangovich corralled it and swept in past Jake McCabe for what appeared to be a certain goal, but Woll sprawled out to make a sublime stop.

What a stop by Woll!

🎥: TSN | NHL

And there must be some extra elasticity in the Saddledome boards, as Woll was forced into another Superman-esque save, once again stopping the puck with his fingertips. Woll was eventually bailed out by Philippe Myers on the following shift, who cleared the puck off the line.

“Amazing. He’s been incredible,” Nylander said of Woll, post-game.

Wolly moly!!!!

🎥: TSN | NHL

“I didn’t know what happened, I just dove. And thank God, it didn’t go in,” Woll said of his sprawling save.

Toronto will now conclude its road trip against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, where it will need more than two superlative performances to emerge with a victory. It’s been a trying season for the Maple Leafs, but Nylander, despite his 18 missed games, leads the team in scoring and showed the entire league why he’s a force to be reckoned with, when healthy.Woll has a penchant for the spectacular, and he’ll be now watching from the bench Wednesday evening, as Anthony Stolarz looks to regain his form against an elite opponent. And perhaps this will be the truer measure of the team heading into the Olympics. You can only play the opponent in front of you, but it’s not exactly thrilling that the Maple Leafs required a shootout to topple the last-ranked Vancouver Canucks, and two sensational performances to defeat the lowly Calgary Flames. Good players can outweigh bad process, and that was certainly the case on Tuesday.

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