<p>Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander felt that his team played well but came up short at the end of Saturday night&#8217;s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.</p>
<p>There were moments where they showed a sense of urgency and initially responded well when the Penguins found the back of the net. But they <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-careless-penalties-bite-maple-leafs-in-5-2-loss-to-penguins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were squandered by a lacklustre showing</a> in the final frame when Pittsburgh got a power-play goal to take the lead, and the Leafs took numerous penalties to end the weekend with zero points.</p>
<p>Nylander felt that the Leafs played well enough collectively in the game despite the loss and that these types of nights are bound to happen.</p>
<p>&#8220;I thought we battled and competed and did a good job for most parts of the game,&#8221; he said after the game <a href="https://x.com/lukefoxjukebox/status/1865597296852730028?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via Sportsnet&#8217;s Luke Fox</a>. &#8220;Took a little too many penalties. I think that might have been a factor, but I thought we played good today so we gotta be happy with that.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I think we play a good game. I think we just got to move forward from that and take all the positives from this game,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Sometimes you play good games and don&#8217;t get a win. And that happened tonight.&#8221;</p>
<p>While these are not the kind of words fans expect to hear after the Leafs failed to get more than three goals against the NHL&#8217;s worst defensive team this season, Nylander is trying to keep things in perspective in terms of the bigger picture.</p>
<p>The Leafs indeed showed stronger play overall in comparison to Friday&#8217;s game against the Washington Capitals, where they could not get anything going offensively. There were plenty of instances that could have swung in their favour, and the overall sense of urgency was an improvement from 24 hours prior.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, costly mistakes, bad discipline, and failing to generate more <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-defends-maple-leafs-effort-against-panthers-5-1-loss-were-missing-half-our-team-up-front" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offence throughout their lineup</a> did them on Saturday night.</p>
<p>“We had good O-zone time and opportunities, and so I was happy with a lot of the game,&#8221; head coach Craig Berube said. &#8220;You know, there&#8217;s things we can always clean up, right? But I like the effort to compete. It was really good. Guys are skating and working, so a lot of good things. But we’ve got to clean up a few things and be better.”</p>
<p>It was good to see <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/max-pacioretty-will-return-vs-penguins-nikita-grebenkin-scratched" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Max Pacioretty back in the mix</a> after being out for a month while more regulars are slowly working their way back in the coming days, but there will no doubt need to be more offensive support from the supporting cast to put the Leafs over the top.</p>
<p>The Leafs have played well defensively, with them currently being tied for third in goals against so far this season. But for a team with as many offensive stars as they have at their disposal, their 80 goals being middle of the pack simply won&#8217;t cut it. Since the start of November, there has only been one instance where they scored more than four goals in a game, and they haven&#8217;t scored more than five since October 28th against the Winnipeg Jets.</p>
<p>Despite this, the Leafs have not wavered hope in their abilities to eventually come through offensively.</p>
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<p>“We’re missing still a lot of guys. It&#8217;s a tough league,” forward Mitch Marner said. “I thought these young guys have done a great job of moving their feet, getting up the ice, creating offence. But, like I&#8217;ve spoken about before, it&#8217;s tough to score. They&#8217;re doing their best, and it will come. So, you know, my thing to them is, just stay patient with it. Don&#8217;t force anything. Let it come.”</p>
<p>The Leafs will look to right the ship when they face Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.</p>
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Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander felt that his team played well but came up short at the end of Saturday night's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

There were moments where they showed a sense of urgency and initially responded well when the Penguins found the back of the net. But they <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-careless-penalties-bite-maple-leafs-in-5-2-loss-to-penguins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were squandered by a lacklustre showing</a> in the final frame when Pittsburgh got a power-play goal to take the lead, and the Leafs took numerous penalties to end the weekend with zero points.

Nylander felt that the Leafs played well enough collectively in the game despite the loss and that these types of nights are bound to happen.

"I thought we battled and competed and did a good job for most parts of the game," he said after the game <a href="https://x.com/lukefoxjukebox/status/1865597296852730028?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via Sportsnet's Luke Fox</a>. "Took a little too many penalties. I think that might have been a factor, but I thought we played good today so we gotta be happy with that."

"I think we play a good game. I think we just got to move forward from that and take all the positives from this game," he added. "Sometimes you play good games and don't get a win. And that happened tonight."

While these are not the kind of words fans expect to hear after the Leafs failed to get more than three goals against the NHL's worst defensive team this season, Nylander is trying to keep things in perspective in terms of the bigger picture.

The Leafs indeed showed stronger play overall in comparison to Friday's game against the Washington Capitals, where they could not get anything going offensively. There were plenty of instances that could have swung in their favour, and the overall sense of urgency was an improvement from 24 hours prior.

At the end of the day, costly mistakes, bad discipline, and failing to generate more <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-defends-maple-leafs-effort-against-panthers-5-1-loss-were-missing-half-our-team-up-front" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offence throughout their lineup</a> did them on Saturday night.

“We had good O-zone time and opportunities, and so I was happy with a lot of the game," head coach Craig Berube said. "You know, there's things we can always clean up, right? But I like the effort to compete. It was really good. Guys are skating and working, so a lot of good things. But we’ve got to clean up a few things and be better.”

It was good to see <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/max-pacioretty-will-return-vs-penguins-nikita-grebenkin-scratched" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Max Pacioretty back in the mix</a> after being out for a month while more regulars are slowly working their way back in the coming days, but there will no doubt need to be more offensive support from the supporting cast to put the Leafs over the top.

The Leafs have played well defensively, with them currently being tied for third in goals against so far this season. But for a team with as many offensive stars as they have at their disposal, their 80 goals being middle of the pack simply won't cut it. Since the start of November, there has only been one instance where they scored more than four goals in a game, and they haven't scored more than five since October 28th against the Winnipeg Jets.

Despite this, the Leafs have not wavered hope in their abilities to eventually come through offensively.
<div class="components_paragraph__b8N_5">

“We’re missing still a lot of guys. It's a tough league,” forward Mitch Marner said. “I thought these young guys have done a great job of moving their feet, getting up the ice, creating offence. But, like I've spoken about before, it's tough to score. They're doing their best, and it will come. So, you know, my thing to them is, just stay patient with it. Don't force anything. Let it come.”

The Leafs will look to right the ship when they face Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
<h2>Join us for the first-ever TLN Vacation!</h2>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114124" src="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2099/08/TLN_Nashville_article.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

Life is too short for ordinary vacations! For the first time ever, The Leafs Nation is headed on Vacation! Escape with TLN to Nashville, Tennessee, from March 20th to March 23rd, 2025, to watch the boys on the road. <a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-toronto-to-nashville-2025">Click here for more info and to get your tickets!</a>

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William Nylander on loss to Penguins: ‘Sometimes you play good games and don’t get a win’

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