Auston Matthews has given his Toronto Maple Leaf teammate, William Nylander, a strange compliment over his cheating.
Auston Matthews Compliments William Nylander Over ‘Cheating’
Matthews, who is captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, was quick to show his admiration towards Nylander after the Maple Leafs picked up a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The compliment itself was an interesting one from the 27-year-old, as it is one that could split opinion and be viewed in a more derogatory fashion.
During the match, Matthews managed go extend his fine run of form after making a comeback from injury by scoring his 19th goal of the campaign.
His teammate, Nylander, was also pivotal to the 5-3 win as the 28-year-old moved up to second in the goal-scoring charts in the NHL with a fine effort to make it 28 goals in 2024/25.
After this top performance, Matthews delivered a post-match interview and complimented Nylander with a slightly different approach than usual.
Matthews said: “He’s really good at, like, cheating for offense. Like, I mean that in the best way possible like he reads the plays, and he’s obviously very fast.
“And yeah, IQ I mean but the way he just reads the play and is able to get behind you. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, nobody does it better than him.”
Nylander is putting in a superb display for the Toronto Maple Leafs this year and many have put this down to the relationship he has built with Craig Berube, the coach in Toronto.
Beating the Tampa Bay Lightning was huge for the Maple Leafs, as they now sit top of the Atlantic Division with a five point lead over Florida.
Auston Matthews and his teammates will be looking to extend his gap and also add another win to their current win streak which sits at three.
