One day later First victory for the Swedish team 5-2 against host nation Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, William Nylander was once again absent from practice.
Sweden skated Thursday afternoon, with Expressen’s Adam Johansson signaling that the Toronto Maple Leafs“The striker was missing from training. However, he is expected to play Friday against Finland, Johansson reports.
The 29-year-old, who is participating in his first Olympic Games, scored the winning goal and played 16:27 in Sweden’s win on Wednesday.
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Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers, Mika Zibanejad of the New York Islanders and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning also scored in the game.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who was Sweden’s seventh defender against Italy, did not make a single appearance.
“It was a very special and fun start to play against Italy in Italy, so that was pretty cool,” Nylander told TSN’s Mark Masters after the game.
There were question marks over Nylander’s status before the game after the forward missed his final practice due to maintenance. But, unsurprisingly, he ended up playing after skating Wednesday morning.
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“I’m just taking care of my body and making sure I’m in shape for the rest of the season,” Nylander continued.
The attacker had only played three games with the Maple Leafs before the Olympic Games. He was dealing with a worsening groin injury, which he suffered against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 15.
The game against Vegas was only his fourth return to the Maple Leafs lineup after missing the previous six games (December 28 to January 10) with an initial groin ailment.
Had Nylander suffered groin injuries in the early days of the Olympics?
“No, not today,” smiled Nylander after Sweden’s victory.
The Maple Leafs rank 61st in Sportico’s ‘Big Five’ North American franchise evaluation
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In the last two matches before going to ItalyNylander scored a goal and four points against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. He leads the Maple Leafs with 18 goals and 52 points in 40 games this season.
In addition to his goal against Italy on Wednesday, Nylander had five shots on goal. The team record belonged to Joel Eriksson Ek, who made nine shots in the match.
“I think playing against Italy in Italy was pretty special,” Nylander added, “and getting the W.”
Sweden’s next match is against Finland on Friday at 6:10 a.m. ET (12:10 p.m. local).
