New NHL docu-series is great viewing with a sad ending for Leafs

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William Nylander joked that he’d turn off Episode 1 of the Prime Video docuseries on last year’s playoffs, right after he scores in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak.

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Nylander, every Toronto teammate and the entire population of Leafs Nation knows the gutting that happened next when Pastrnak caught them off-guard, raced down the ice to corral a loose puck and bury the 2-1 overtime eliminator.

But the journey to that moment, the back story of the good friends/rivals from their teenage days is riveting. This isn’t the Chill Will the public is used to seeing in quick post-game clips: Here he’s mic’d up, dropping F-bombs everywhere to fire up the Leafs, on the bench and in the dressing room. Or being a nervous Nellie confined to his condo to watch Games 1 and 2, with mysterious migraines, agonizing with everyone else watching his team lose both.

Faceoff: Inside The NHL has excellent behind-the-scenes access and dramatic cinematography. It’s a story that needs no narrator as it parallels both players’ careers. There’s Nylander scoring a big goal upon returning to the Boston series, but humbled at home to walk his two dogs. Embedded camera crews follow him driving incognito around town or on the TTC (standing right behind a guy in Bruins colours), street interactions with fans, playing shinny with kids on a local rink and flitting around Toronto’s top restaurants.

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He and Pastrnak share a beer at one diner before a late-season Bruins visit, segueing to new papa Pasta driving his infant daughter Freya around Boston. In a more tense moment, he deals with getting called out in the media by coach Jim Montgomery.

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Pastrnak also touches on personal loss, his father’s passing in the Czech Republic when he was just 17, the tragedy of son Viggo, who lived only six days after birth in 2021.

He and Nylander hug it out in the Game 7 handshake line, Pastrnak telling his despondent pal: “I love you.”

“Growing up watching hockey documentaries following the NHL, I always wanted to see guys away from the rink,” Nylander said Monday when the episode was screened at Toronto’s Steam Whistle Brewery. “That was one of my reasons I wanted to do it, because it’s fun to show that (raw) part of hockey.

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“A lot of kids aren’t that close, so to see this, you can have a dream and what you can try for and what it can be like.”

From a list of 30 players whom London, England-based Box to Box Productions and the NHL chose — either from a volunteer list or those they approached — the first season will also feature head-to-head duos Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers and Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman. There are two Stanley Cup final episodes, with Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman and the finale when the fiery Tkachuk re-appears opposite McDavid in their see-saw seven-game set.

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The producers, including Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer, said some luck was involved in that players picked for the project around the all-star break wound up going deep in the playoffs. Now he’s heard from others wanting in if there’s a second season.

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“This is not a show (just) for hockey fans, although they’re going to love it,” Mayer said. ”It’s meant to be a show for sports fans who get an introduction to hockey through our players and some great storytelling, There are things that even (the media) have never seen before.

“The players let us into their lives, and they were all in.”

The Nylander/Pastrnak episode launches the series globally on Oct. 4 as part of Amazon Prime subscriptions.

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