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.
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.”
— John Tavares (@91Tavares) May 21, 2021
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.