The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered their fourth consecutive loss on Thursday. After the game, star forward William Nylander made comments that have since drawn criticism from angry fans.
Following three straight losses, including two against longtime rival Boston Bruins, the Maple Leafs were hoping to rebound against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Although they earned one point, the Leafs fell in overtime after Quinton Byfield of the Kings scored just 35 seconds into extra time, securing Los Angeles’ third consecutive win.
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Leafs frustration
Both players and fans were visibly frustrated after the failed attempt to return to the win column.
“I thought they three-quarter iced us in the second, and the reason that is because when you get pucks back in our own zone, we’ve got to get out of it. We’ve got to make a play to advance it up the ice; we didn’t do a good job of it. We’ve got the lead in the third, and I thought we sat back a little too much,” Leafs coach Craig Berube told NHL.com after the game.
William Nylander calls out teammates
Now, attention has turned to William Nylander for comments he made in a postgame interview. When asked about his concerns regarding the team’s defensive play, Nylander said:
“Defensively, we have been struggling. That is something that can be fixed, and you can adjust to make changes. Be better at that, have better attention to details. I would be more worried if we weren’t scoring goals, because that’s harder to do. Not letting in goals, that’s been hard for us this year, and that’s something you can change, adjust, and do better.”
Fans outraged
Fans, however, have criticized Nylander for the way he expressed himself, suggesting he does not contribute enough defensively.
“If defense is easy, then why is he so bad at it?” one fan wrote.
“I’m sure this went over really well with the D and goalies,” another added.
“Willy ‘styles’ cares more about looking cool and scoring goals than winning games. Hate to see it!” a third fan commented.
“Why do they ask a question to the player who doesn’t give any defensive effort? #88 knows only one thing: his offensive stats,” a fourth fan chimed in.
You can watch the interview below.
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