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Maple Leafs’ John Tavares released from hospital, out indefinitely

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Maple Leafs star John Tavares had to be stretchered off and taken to a local hospital after taking an accidental knee to the head from the Canadiens' Corey Perry.

John Tavares was released from the hospital Friday morning and is resting at home, according to the Maple Leafs.

The Toronto captain left Game 1 of their First Round series with the Canadiens after a collision with Corey Perry in the first period of Montreal’s 2-1 win. Tavares was helped by medical personnel after being in clear distress on the ice. He was eventually taken off on a stretcher and is now out indefinitely.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Friday that Tavares suffered a concussion on the play.

From the Maple Leafs:

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares has been discharged from the hospital this morning. He was thoroughly examined and assessed by the neurological team at St. Michael’s Hospital and the club’s medical director. He was kept overnight for observation and is now rest at home under the care and supervision of team physicians. Tavares will be out indefinitely.

Minutes after the collision, Perry would fight Maple Leafs forward Nick Foligno.

“He got hit and I was coming out of the zone,” Perry said. “He fell and I tried to jump over him and unfortunately I caught my knee on his head. I don’t know what else to do there. I know Johnny pretty well. I just hope he is OK.”

The Maple Leafs will look to even the series in Game 2 Saturday night in Toronto.

“In terms of losing John, that’s a big loss for us, but we’ve got lots of depth,” said Keefe. “Obviously, we’ll make a lineup change to adjust to it. All our guys are just going to have to play better. It’s a big loss, it’s our captain. Good teams overcome these types of things and that’s going to be on us here now.”

MAPLE LEAFS VS. CANADIENS (MTL leads 1-0) - series livestream link

Game 1: Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1
Saturday, May 22: Canadiens at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET (CNBC)
Monday, May 24: Maple Leafs at Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET (NHL Network)
Tuesday, May 25: Maple Leafs at Canadiens TBD
*Thursday, May 27: Canadiens at Maple Leafs TBD
*Saturday, May 29: Maple Leafs at Canadiens TBD
*Monday, May 31: Canadiens at Maple Leafs TBD

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.