Could it have been the haircut?
Sporting newly shorn hair, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander finally got the proverbial monkey off his back — which he physically showed — after netting his first goal of the season in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Wild — his 12th game this season since ending his holdout Dec. 1.
“My aunt is in town and she cuts my hair, so I was like, ‘Yeah, we have to do it,’” Nylander said at Toronto's practice Monday, hinting he hoped the new 'do would change his mojo.
The haircut may have actually helped as Nylander swooped around from behind the net, turned and fired the puck from the bottom of the circle past the shoulder of Devan Dubnyk in the second period. Nylander then reached his right hand back behind him and threw the monkey off his back.
Entering Thursday's Next Gen Game, the right wing only had two assists from Dec. 11 under his belt. Last season, Nylander had 61 points in 82 games. He missed the first two months of this season as he was unable to come to an agreement with the Leafs as a restricted free agent.
Mitch Marner scored two goals and Michael Hutchinson stopped 27 of the 31 shots he faced in his Leafs debut.
Prior to the game, it was announced that Frederik Anderson was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury and Garret Sparks was in concussion protocol. Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo were called up from the Marlies on Thursday.