$92,000,000 Leafs star William Nylander delivers blunt response after reaching 40-goal mark for third consecutive season

William Nylander reached the 40-goal mark for the third straight season in Toronto’s 7-2 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena. With two goals and two assists, he now has 40 goals and 37 assists for 77 points in 71 games this campaign.

When asked about the milestone, he smirked and said:

"Just trying to do what I'm paid to do. That's it (smirks)."

William Nylander's first goal came at 15:11 of the first period on a power play. He shot the puck, and it deflected off Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler’s skate into the net.

His second goal came at 11:55 of the second period. He took a shot from the high slot and beat Samuel Ersson on the blocker side, making it 5-1 with his 40th goal of the season.

The Maple Leafs have now won all three games against the Flyers this season. Their offense dominated again, with Nylander playing a key role. When asked if he learned anything from last season’s scoring slump, Nylander said:

"Whatever — just keep shooting the puck. There’s nothing you can do if it’s not going to go in," Nylander responded.

William Nylander became the second Swedish player in NHL history to score 40 goals in three straight seasons. When asked about it, he said:

"Yeah, I mean, that’s pretty cool. But my focus is only on the playoffs right now. That’s obviously fun to accomplish, playing with great players, but what matters is the playoffs."

Nylander, who signed an eight-year, $92 million contract in January 2024, became the fourth Maple Leaf with three straight 40-goal seasons, joining Auston Matthews, Rick Vaive and Lanny McDonald.

He's now nine goals behind league leader Leon Draisaitl, who's out with an injury. With 11 games left, he could reach 90 points for the first time.

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John Tavares and William Nylander give the Leafs a strong start

Ryan Poehling scored first at 7:59, one-timing a pass from Jakob Pelletier over Anthony Stolarz’s glove. John Tavares tied it 1-1 at 10:37, scoring from the slot after a pass from William Nylander before Nylander gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Bobby McMann made it 3-1 at 1:45 of the second period, finishing a pass from Nylander. Tavares extended the lead to 4-1 at 7:49 with a shot past Samuel Ersson.

Nylander scored at 11:55 to put the Leafs 5-1 in front. David Kampf added a breakaway goal at 15:08. Sean Couturier made it 6-2 at 18:17, but Max Domi scored at 11:32 for the 7-2 final score.