The game was historic for the Swedish star in several ways.
The 30-year-old Nylander matched his personal best for points in an NHL game. He had previously scored two goals and recorded three assists in December 2022 against Calgary.
Last night, he also became the seventh-fastest Swede in NHL history to reach 700 points, according to nhl.com. He did it in 756 games.
Climbing the rankings
Only six Swedish players have reached the milestone in fewer games: Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Nicklas Bäckström, Tomas Sandström, Daniel Alfredsson and Henrik Zetterberg.
With his goals, he also moved into a tie for seventh place on Toronto's all-time scoring list.
William Nylander got on the scoresheet early in the game, setting up a goal just three minutes into the first period.
The Swede's first goal tied the game at 2-2 with a shot in the second period. Less than ten minutes later, he scored again. Before the period was over, he had also recorded his second assist of the game.
"I just went out there to play. I got some really nice passes, so I managed to score the two goals," Nylander said, according to nhl.com.
“Great responsibility”
Nylander recorded his final point in the third period, when he and teammate Kirill Martchenko set up Auston Matthews' wrist shot.
Afterwards, Mats Sundin, a senior adviser to Toronto and the club's all-time leading scorer, praised Nylander as "incredibly good tonight."
"He has been one of the leading players. Now he is no longer young and promising, but needs to take on a lot of responsibility - and he has certainly done that here at the beginning of the season," Sundin told Sportbladet.
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