William Nylander’s play was all over the place — good and bad — as the Maple Leafs grinded out back-to-back wins.

Friday night in New York, Nylander was the hero. Saturday night, he was at the opposite end of the spectrum in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena.

Nylander simply looked uninvolved on the backcheck and coach Sheldon Keefe got his point across: limiting the talented winger — as well as linemate Kasperi Kapanen — to three shifts in the second period, none in the final 13 minutes.

The message was clear: play better without the puck when it’s not your night on offence.

For Nylander, it was a set back in more ways than one. Not only did he get stapled to the bench, but the collar from Keefe came after a two goal night in New York Friday, a game in which it looked like Nylander was generating a hot streak again.

“It’s the way it goes … some nights guys are going to play more than others,” Keefe said about the reduced ice time for Nylander and Kapanen. “Willy had an outstanding game (Friday) and was a difference-maker for us. Today it was other guys. That's part of having a team and an 82-game season.”

Keefe called Saturday’s encounter “tough” even though Detroit is the only team in the NHL with single-digit wins (nine). The Wings play a consistent checking game and are strong on the puck in the offensive zone when they have it. It’s the type of game that leads to breakdowns in the Leafs’ end — as evidenced by three breakaways on backup goalie Michael Hutchinson in the first period.

Hutchinson stood tall for his first win of the season and earned first star honours. The home crowd chanted his name late in the third period with a shutout in reach. Tyler Bertuzzi, however, spoiled the bid on the power play with 1:44 remaining.

The Leafs have won four in a row and six of seven, vaulting from fifth place to second in the Atlantic Division. With Montreal losing, the Leafs sit two points ahead of the Canadiens.

Goal rush: Auston Matthews scored a pair of goals in the third period without regular linemates Nylander and Kapanen, who were shuttled to another line with Alex Kerfoot after the second-period benching. Keefe began mixing and matching in the third, putting Matthews with Zach Hyman — who scored the other two goals — and Mitch Marner.

Matthews scored on the power play early in the third, and added his 23rd goal of the season off a set-up from Marner. He also set up Hyman’s second goal, a nifty little delay pass that allowed Hyman to get up to speed, take the feed and tuck a backhander under the crossbar.

“Yeah, I thought I was playing with Patrick Kane for a second there,” Matthews said, smiling.

Nylander got six shifts in the third, while Kapanen saw five.

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Keefe did stick with the fourth line of Frédérik Gauthier between Dmitri Timashov and Trevor Moore. The trio earned the trust of the head coach, who left them out against Detroit’s top line of Dylan Larkin between Filip Zadina and Anthony Mantha.

Up next: Monday vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 2 p.m.

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