3 most impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from 4-3 OT win over New Jersey Devils feat. William Nylander

Thursday night featured the return of former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe to Scotiabank Arena; it was his first time back in the building that he called home from November 2019 to April 2024 during his time as head coach of the Leafs.

He's now with the New Jersey Devils, with whom he's guided to one of the best records in the Metropolitan Division. But his former team would have something to say about whether he could help his new team earn two points in the standings.

Leafs forward William Nylander scored twice, including the overtime game-winning goal to secure a 4-3 OT win for the Leafs, who improved to 28-16-2; meanwhile, Keefe and the Devils are now 26-15-6.

The opening 20 minutes of play went New Jersey's way, as Jack Hughes opened the scoring just 2:21 after the opening face-off; the Devils took their 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Early in the second period, Nylander knotted the score at 1-1 with the first of what would be two goals on the night, only to have Devils captain Nico Hischer respond on the power play exactly two minutes later to restore the lead; it was also the first of what would be two goals on the night for him.

In the third period, Leafs captain Auston Matthews tied the game, only to have Hischer respond with his second goal.

Keeping up with the scoring two goals trend, Matthews got in on the fun with his second, tying the score at 15:47. That set up overtime, where Nylander played the role of hero with, you guessed it, his second goal.

Jacob Markstrom did all he could for the Devils, making 37 saves in a losing effort; Joseph Woll wasn't as busy, finishing with 21 saves.

3 most impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from 4-3 OT win over New Jersey Devils

#1. William Nylander

The Leafs forward, who is in the first year of a mammoth contract extension that he agreed to last season, has been heating up after a dry spell that saw him go several games without scoring.

Not only did he score his 25th goal, but he capped the scoring with the game-winner, his 26th of the season. He's now on pace to reach 45 goals, which would be a new career-high.

#2. Auston Matthews

The Maple Leafs captain came through in the clutch with a pair of goals of his own, increasing his total to 17.

While he's not on pace to reach anywhere near the 69 goals he had last season, Matthews has also missed a chunk of time this season due to injury and illness. But the fact that he's rounding into form in the second half of the season is a good sign for Toronto.

#3. Mitch Marner

While Marner didn't score, he picked up a pair of assists for the Leafs, increasing his impressive total to 48.

Now on pace to reach a career-best 85 assists, Marner is making the job of GM Brad Treliving all the more difficult; he is looking for a new contract after this season, and his incredible point pace may be pricing himself out of Toronto.

The Maple Leafs will be in action again when they take on the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on Saturday.