The Toronto Maple Leafs may have found something in their second line of Max Pacioretty, John Tavares, and William Nylander.
The trio were instrumental in Thursday’s win over the Seattle Kraken which included two goals from Nylander, who just fell short of his second career hat trick despite his best efforts. Across their first two games together, they have combined to record five goals and eight assists which helped them secure wins against the Kraken and the Winnipeg Jets.
“I think they’re working well,” forward Matthew Knies said after the game. “I think Max (Pacioretty) has been very physical, creating those puck battles, Willy’s finding the net and Johnny’s supporting everywhere. They’re really beginning to click here.”
Their instant chemistry has certainly produced results and it was on full display on Nylander’s second of the night. Pacioretty was able to find off the pressure from two Kraken players and protect the puck long enough to squirt it to the open area for Nylander to corral it. He didn’t hold onto the puck for long because he quickly fired a behind-the-back pass to Pacioretty who got robbed point-blank by Joey Daccord but left a rebound for Tavares to collect.
He may have got knocked down to his knees but he never lost control of the puck and was able to feed Nylander who went over to the opposite side and made no mistake. Tavares trusted his instincts when he dished that pass to Nylander though he felt he got lucky in executing it.
WILLIAM NYLANDER 🚨🚨
This second line is nuts pic.twitter.com/Idx9Q7Ba4o
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) November 1, 2024
“I think there’s a real good familiarity, at least with me and Willie, obviously playing a lot together over the years,” he said on why the line is clicking right now. “(Max) has had a great career. Talked about how he’s feeling the best he has in a long time and has proven to play at an elite level, understands his game really well, and thinks the game at a high level. We’ve been able to play off each other really well and have a good feel for what we do. When you get those, get the instincts and reading off one another, it goes a long way into making plays, playing quick, and creating opportunities.”
The early success has certainly helped in generating chemistry, though that doesn’t mean the work is done in getting familiar with each player’s tendencies on a nightly basis. Nylander admitted that he sometimes has to do a double take because Tavares and Pacioretty have similar routines.
“Off the ice, even on the ice sometimes, I feel like if I look fast I don’t know which one’s which,” he said. “They got black sticks, black tape and everything. So they’re very similar in their ways. They have quite a long time, so they know what they need to do to get ready for a game.”
Regardless of how long the trio can maintain their strong run of form, Craig Berube is surely pleased to know he has a solid second line that can produce offensively. The early returns have given him and his staff faith that they can continue to try them out and let the process play out similar to how the top line has remained mostly intact since the start of the season.
When asked about what he likes about the combination, Berube felt the trio strengths complement each other well and praised them for a strong showing against Seattle.
“Pacioretty’s a physical player. He’s getting in there and creating a lot of space for these guys, in my opinion,” he said. “JT’s really strong on the puck right now, doing a good job there. Willy puts it in the net. I mean, it’s a pretty solid line.”
