Kevin Bieksa raves about $92,000,000 Maple Leafs superstar - "When he plays like this, he's a God in Toronto"

Former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa had high praise for Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander following his performance in the first period against the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 on Tuesday.

Speaking on Sportsnet, Bieksa raved about the evolution in Nylander's game, noting how the 26-year-old seems more mature, disciplined and hungry for pucks this season.

Nylander, who has an 8-year, $92,000,000 contract, assisted on Morgan Rielly's first period goal with a nice pass on an impressive scissor play. Bieksa pointed out how Nylander is still a dangerous offensive threat with his skating and edge work.

“So when he gets the puck, he's still dangerous. Cutbacks, the skating, the edge work, and making that pass right there on the scissor play to Morgan Reiley, but you're seeing more responsible plays like that, like just a little tip pass. There isn't the turnovers right here.”

He showed great compete in battling Senators forward Dylan Cozens for pucks. When Nylander plays like this, Bieksa says,

“He's a god in Toronto. Leafs fans absolutely loved him. And it just keeps going on and on with the puck. We always know dangerous, you know, deceptive. Get above it here, but getting us off right there.”

Bieksa loves how he's winning more puck battles and playing a more responsible game. Staying above pucks and not giving away possession has made Nylander lethal off the rush.

The Maple Leafs defeated the Senators 3-2 in overtime. Max Domi scored the game-winner, while John Tavares also got one for Toronto. For Ottawa, Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette scored. Anthony Stolarz had 26 saves in the win. Linus Ullmark stopped 18 shots.

Game recap: Leafs 3-2 OT win against Senators

In the first period, Rielly scored at 3:43 redirecting a pass from Nylander to make it 1-0. Tavares then followed up with a power-play goal, banking the puck off a defender to stretch the lead to 2-0.

In the seond period, Tkachuk scored for Ottawa at 15:41 with a power-play goal that deflected in off a skate. Gaudette leveled the score 2-2 at 14:47 of the third, redirecting a point shot on Ottawa’s first shot of the period.

Domi scored the game-winner at 3:09 of overtime for a 3-2 Leafs win and a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is set in Ottawa on Thursday.