Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander had a birthday to remember on Thursday night, but a bizarre mistake could have easily made it a disaster.
Nylander, who turned 29, scored two goals in a thrilling Game 6 to help the Leafs close out their NHL Playoffs round one series against the Ottawa Senators with a 4-2 win.
The Leafs had a much different attitude and work rate at the start of this game than in Game 5.
Auston Matthews put them 1-0 up on a power play in the first period before Nylander rifled it in at the start of the second to make it 2-0. However, the Senators, playing in front of a raucous home crowd at the Canadian Tire Centre, would never lie down easily.
The hosts pulled two goals back to level it with their captain, Brady Tkachuk, and David Perron hitting the net.
It looked like the trauma of the previous playoff collapses was coming to bear, but to the Leafs’ credit, they rallied to the task. A brilliant goal from Max Pacioretty put them in front before Nylander blew out the candles by scoring a fantastic goal on an empty-netter.
The Leafs will now face the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, who knocked Toronto out of the playoffs in 2023. There, they will face another Tkachuk, Brady’s brother Matthew.
However, it could have gone so much differently.
According to Elliotte Friedman on last night’s Sportsnet broadcast, the Leafs’ original starting lineup had William Nylander’s brother, Alexander, starting, and the birthday boy listed as a scratch.
Friedman said the mistake “could have been disastrous for Toronto.”
Under Rule 5.1, William Nylander wouldn’t have been allowed to play.
The rule states: “Prior to the game, if an official (on-ice or off-ice) notices that a player is in uniform but has not been included on the Official Game Report, the Referee shall bring this to the attention of the offending team so that the necessary correction can be made to the Official Game Report with no penalty assessed.”
Luckily for the Leafs, the mistake was spotted before the report was submitted, and William Nylander could play.
Head coach Craig Berube laughed about the gaffe in his post-game press conference.
“You’re on the sheet there. If normal names were up there, but you call guys up there, and I got confused,” Berube said.
I was like, “What the hell?” I told the officials, “It’s Willie, not Alex.”
Social media was amused by the incident, with some rival fans crying foul.
“Would’ve been the most embarrassing moment in NHL history,” one user said.
Another wrote, “Leafs getting preferential treatment again, SMH.”
One person said, “Don’t understand why an official can fix it, should be on the team.”
William Nylander finished the game with three points, assisting on Pacioretty’s goal. But imagine the bragging rights Alexander could have had over his brother if he had played instead of him on his birthday!?
Thankfully, the Leafs are through to the second round, but they never do it the easy way, do they?
