Toronto Maple Leafs in the Four Nations Faceoff: Preview

The Toronto Maple Leafs enter the Four Nations Face-Off in second place in the Atlantic Division trailing first-place Florida by three points. holding onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They will be represented by three players in the upcoming tournament. They will have William Nylander playing for Team Sweden, Mitch Marner for Team Canada, and Auston Matthews for Team USA. Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa was supposed to play for Team Finland but he is out due to a knee injury.

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William Nylander:

Nylander this season in 55 games has recorded 55 points on 33 goals and 22 assists while averaging 19:49 TOI. He is second in the league in goals. Nylander has recorded 21 power-play points with eight of those being power-play goals. He’s recorded seven game-winning goals for the Maple Leafs. He also recorded 186 shots on goal. He’s been playing on the second line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Yesterday during practice for Team Sweden, he was skating on the second line with Rickard Rakell and Mika Zibanejad. He was also on the top power-play unit with Zibanejad, Filip Forsberg, Lucas Raymond, and Rasmus Dahlin. Nylander will play tomorrow night against Canada at 8:00 PM EST on TNT.

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Mitch Marner:

Marner who is a UFA following this season and looking for an extension is having a great season. In 54 games he has 71 points on 16 goals and 55 assists while averaging 21:33 TOI. He enters the break tied for fifth in points and third in assists in the NHL. Marner has 24 power-play points with five of those coming as power-play goals. He has two shorthanded points on a goal and an assist. Marner has recorded five game-winning goals this season. He has 125 shots on goal this season. Typically playing with John Tavares and Nylander on the second line for Toronto. During Canada’s practice, he was on the top line with Sam Reinhart and Connor McDavid. He was also on the second power-play unit with Mark Stone, Brayden Point, Josh Morrisey, and Shea Theodore. Marner and Team Canada will face Nylander and Team Sweden tomorrow at 8:00 PM EST on TNT.

Auston Matthews:

Matthews has played in 40 games this season recording 20 goals and 25 assists in 20:31 TOI. He’s recorded 14 power-play points with five of those coming on goals. He has recorded a short-handed goal. He also has a game-winning goal. Matthews has 161 shots on goal. He normally plays on the top line in Toronto playing alongside Matthew Knies and Max Domi. With Team USA at practice yesterday he was centering the second line with Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes. He was also on the top power-play unit with Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, and Adam Fox. Matthews and Team USA start the tournament Thursday against Finland at 8:00 PM EST on ESPN.