Leafs' Nylander 'fine' after collision, Tavares sits late following hit
Published
William Nylander appears to have avoided any significant injury after leaving Thursday's pre-season game against the Montreal Canadiens for precautionary reasons. The Maple Leafs forward was skating back into his own zone in the first period when linemate Nick Robertson pushed him with his stick from behind, which caused Nylander to fall and slide headfirst into Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak's leg.
"He'll be OK," head coach Craig Berube assured reporters after the game. "He's fine. Nothing to worry about."
Nylander, who racked up a career high 98 points last season, stayed down for a few moments after the collision before heading to the dressing room.
"I talked to him and he's doing good," Robertson said. "We'll see how he is in the next few days."
Asked a general question about the game, Robertson was quick to address what he referred to as "the elephant in the room."
"It was kind of a fluke thing," the 23-year-old winger said. "I was trying to give him a little boost on the back check … It was just a tough play."
Robertson, who is battling for a job up front, scored the game-winning goal and earned a positive review from Berube.
"Robbie is a dynamic skater and he's got a motor on him," said Berube. "He just works and works and works. It is great to see him get the goal there. Good track to strip a guy and bring it [in] and score. He is a worker. He has the ability to score goals with his shot. He did a lot of good things tonight."
John Tavares played only two shifts in the third period.
"My leg was getting pretty stiff from the hit I took there in the first," the 32-year-old centre said.
Tavares was in pain after his knee collided with the knee of Michael Pezzetta along the boards in the first period.
"It wasn't so bad afterwards, but throughout the second and especially in the third, it just got really, really stiff and I didn't have much," said Tavares. "I told Craig I would just keep [shifts] short, but he determined to give me the rest of the night off."
"I didn't want to take a chance," said Berube. "It was my call."
The Leafs will face the Canadiens again on Saturday, but only a handful of NHL regulars are expected to make the trip to Montreal.
Toronto wraps up the pre-season schedule with a pair of games against the Detroit Red Wings next week (Thursday and Saturday).
The Leafs will be back on the ice for practice at the Ford Performance Centre on Friday morning.