OTHER STARS – WILLIAM NYLANDER – FW – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
William Nylander once again had a brilliant month for his Toronto Maple Leafs. When he went scoreless in a 2-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on December 30, he did so for the first time in 13 games, and for the first time in December. It was Nylander’s second hitting streak of at least 13 games this season. He began the fall by scoring in 17 straight games.
In December, Nylander scored 20 points (5+15) and overshadowed Mika Zibanejad in the Swedish scoring league. The successful month meant that he is now listed for 48 points (17+31) in 34 games and that he tops the Swedish scoring league in the NHL.
Nylander scored at least two points on seven occasions, including five in a row between December 9 and 16. On December 23, he had a goal and two assists as the Maple Leafs won 4–1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
At the time of writing, William Nylander has only five players ahead of him in the overall points league and tops the Toronto Maple Leafs internal.
THIRD STAR – MARCUS PETTERSON – B – PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Marcus Pettersson perhaps above all has the stamp of a defensive back on his style of play. It is in that role that he receives the most assignments from Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. During December, he played plus-6 and averaged 23:22 minutes of ice time in 13 games. His plus/minus stats were the best on the team, while his ice time was third-highest behind star defensemen Erik Karlsson (25:11) and Kris Letang (24:48).
But Pettersson also stood out offensively. In his 13 games, the Swede delivered a total of nine assists. He thus improved his point total to 14 in 35 games this season and is just ten off last year’s personal best mark (24). However, the 27-year-old defender is still waiting for the first goal of the season.
Pettersson was particularly successful on December 27 when the Penguins won 7-0 against the New York Islanders. Then Pettersson played until four of the goals. Pettersson has never scored so many points in one and the same NHL game before.
Pettersson’s efforts at both ends of the ice helped the Penguins go 7-3-3 in games in December.
2024-01-03 16:11:12
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