Sheldon Keefe reveals William Nylander's status for Game 2

The Maple Leafs had a surprise participant in Monday's full game day skate in Boston, as William Nylander returned to the ice with his teammates ahead of Game 2.

It was a huge surprise when Nylander was held out of Saturday's Game 1 following a regular season in which he participated in all 82 games. Nylander was not believed to have been playing through any injuries, but rather had just woken up with some tightness ahead of Game 1 that didn't loosen up enough for him to play.

With Game 2 set to take place tonight, Nylander's presence at practice was a welcomed surprise, but that surprise quickly gave way to confusion as practice wore on. Nylander was not practicing on either the power play or penalty killing units, leading some to believe he may not suit up for Game 2.

Then, when line rushes came about, he was rotating in and out with Nick Robertson on the Leafs' 3rd line, which made it seem like he might play. Naturally, the Toronto media were interested to speak with Keefe after practice to hear what he had to say.


Following practice, Keefe provided the following update on Nylander:



Keefe making Nylander a game-time decision is right on brand with what Brad Treliving has been preaching since before the playoffs even started. Treliving told all staff and players to avoid sharing any lineup information or injury updates. It looks like that message has been well-received.

The Leafs hope to bounce back in a big way tonight after being laughed off the ice on Saturday in a 5-1 loss to the Bruins, who now hold a 1-0 series lead.

The Leafs have a number of things to clean up tonight, including improving upon their defensive zone play, putting forth a better effort on special teams and staying a little more disciplined and keeping themselves out of the penalty box. They also need to figure out a way to generate some offense, but if Nylander plays, he'll certainly help in that category.