The Maple Leafs held a media availability at Ford Performance Centre before flying to Florida on Thursday.

---

William Nylander has racked up five goals and seven points in the last three games. During this hot streak he's worn the same beige suit to the rink each night.

"It's just the one that's in the front right now," the Leafs winger said with a smile.

Nylander didn't commit to wearing it to Game 3 against the Florida Panthers on Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.

"I don't know," he said. "We'll see."

The truth is Nylander has never seemed like the superstitious type. Whatever suit he's wearing, the 29-year-old always feels comfortable in his own skin.

"I learned nothing gets to him," said first year Leafs coach Craig Berube. "He doesn't feel pressure and, I could be wrong, but this is what I see. There's no stage too big for this guy. Like, he thrives on this stuff, in my opinion, and he looks forward to it and he wants to be in all those critical situations. When he smells something, he's there."

The latest example came on Wednesday as Nylander scored a beautiful goal off the rush in the second period to tie Game 2 against the Panthers 2-2. The Leafs went on to win 4-3 and grab a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.

"That goal is as high-end as it can get with hands," Berube gushed.

Nylander received a pass from Max Pacioretty off his skate and directed it to his stick before flipping the puck over Sergei Bobrovsky to score his team leading sixth goal of the playoffs. With 13 points, Nylander is tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for second in playoff scoring ahead of Thursday's games.

"He's just got ice in his veins, it seems," said Leafs winger Steven Lorentz. "He goes out, it's like the biggest game of his life, and he just performs. It's great to see him deliver and we need it. He's playing some great hockey."

Since the start of the 2021 playoffs, Nylander leads the Leafs with 21 goals and 41 points in 37 postseason games. Auston Matthews is second with 13 goals while Mitch Marner is second with 39 points.

What's the best part of playing with Nylander? Pacioretty paused to consider the question.

"Lost for words because there's so many words [to] describe it," the veteran winger said with a smile. "He's just all over it every night, always in a good spot. Just works insanely hard and........

© TSN