The Toronto Maple Leafs clinched the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series in Game 6 against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, May 1. Maple Leafs forward William Nylander played a crucial part in the team’s 4-2 win, with two goals and an assist on the night. However, a typo in the game lineup sheet almost led to a situation where the forward would not have been allowed to stay on the ice.
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman Breaks Down Leafs’ Teamsheet Blunder
During a postgame analysis on “Hockey Night in Canada,” Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman highlighted the mistake in the starting lineup sheet, which led to Nylander’s brother, Alexander Nylander, being mistakenly listed on the official game report.
An official reportedly caught the error and brought it to Toronto’s attention. Nylander was eligible to play under Rule 5.1 of the NHL Rulebook, Friedman explained.
“Now, rule 5.1 is: Before the game, if an on- or off-ice official notices, which clearly somebody did, you can go to the team and say, ‘We’re going to allow you to make the correction. You can fix that here.'” Friedman said. “But if the puck had dropped and the game had started and nobody had noticed this, Willie Nylander could have been removed from the game. It could have been disastrous.”
According to the NHL experts, the Leafs’ star Nylander would have been told to leave the ice had the game started with the lineup error left uncorrected. Toronto would also not have been able to name a replacement for him.
Nylander, who signed an eight-year, $92-million contract with Toronto in January 2024, made franchise history as the first player with three points in a series-winning game since Wendel Clark (two goals, one assist), who achieved the feat in Game 7 of the Leafs’ 1994 playoff series against the San Jose Sharks.
His 27-year-old brother is under contract with the Maple Leafs but plays with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
Maple Leafs Advance to Round 2 of Playoffs
The Maple Leafs won only their second playoff elimination game in 15 attempts in recent years. Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period after the Senators had equalized the score at 2-2.
Toronto had won the first three games of the series before slumping to consecutive losses in Games 4 and 5. Team captain Auston Matthews spoke to reporters after the win and praised his teammates for their mental toughness.
“I thought we had great energy this morning, just the confidence in ourselves,” Matthews said via NHL.com. “You know, like I kind of talked about, nothing else really matters; all the outside stuff doesn’t really matter. It’s about the 20, 25 guys that are in our room and the belief in one another, doing it for one another, and just going out there and competing. This one feels good.”
