Sweden Needs More From Maple Leafs Forward

Sweden entered the 4 Nations Face-Off counting heavily on Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander. The Maple Leafs winger is having an excellent NHL 2024-2025 campaign, with 33 goals through his first 55 regular season contests. He's been a dominant force with the puck on his stick and his play has the Leafs three points back of the Atlantic Division lead.

Through two games at the 4 Nations Face-Off, however, the Maple Leafs' superstar is struggling. He's recorded just one assist in two contests and hasn't come close to scoring. He has only two shots on goal despite averaging over 21 minutes of ice time, the most among Swedish forwards. He's on the first power play unit as well, giving him ample opportunity to pace their offense.

The Swedes play their final preliminary round game against the finals-bound United States. Sweden desperately needs a victory in regulation in order to have a chance at the gold medal round, and the only way they can get past the mighty USA squad is with a monster game from Nylander.

It's something everyone knows he's capable of, but it's time for Nylander to take over. One way he can do that is to stop deferring. The curse of the extra pass plagues every one in this tournament. It's a symptom of a best-on-best event such as the 4 Nations, but Nylander has been especially guilty. Playing on a line with New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad and Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell, Nylander is the engine. The offense needs to flow through him, not around him.

With elimination at stake, Sweden is once again looking towards William Nylander. Despite losing their first two games in overtime, they have a shot at moving on to the gold medal game. First, they must beat the United States, which they can only do if they get more out of the Maple Leafs' superstar.