Nylander scores twice as Maple Leafs beat Stars 5-4

William Nylander had two goals and three points as the Toronto Maple Leafs and their “Core Four” dominated in a 5-4 win against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

Nylander opened the scoring for Toronto and assisted on John Tavares’ second-period goal. The 27-year-old scored his second goal of the night, his 25th of the season, in the third, which proved to be the game-winner for the Maple Leafs.

Auston Matthews scored his 41st goal of the season and added an assist, while Mitch Marner also scored for Toronto. Tavares added two assists and three points, while wingers Matthew Knies and Tyler Bertuzzi had an assist each.

The “Core Four,” which currently consists of Matthews, Nylander, Marner and Tavares, combined for nine points on Wednesday night.

Ilya Samsonov made 27 saves for the Leafs, who scored three times on the power play after falling 3-2 to the New York Islanders on Monday coming out of the NHL all-star break. 

Named MVP of the all-star game in Toronto on Saturday after leading his team to a victory in the four-team mini-tournament, Matthews nearly scored on a short-handed 2-on-1 with Marner later in the period before breaking through with his eighth goal in as many games. 

Toronto visits Ottawa to play the Senators on Saturday.

With files from Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press