Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas offered an update on John Tavares on Saturday, announcing that the team’s captain suffered a concussion and a knee injury during an ugly Game 1 collision that resulted in him leaving the ice on a stretcher.
Dubas also revealed that Tavares did not suffer any structural damage to his head, neck or spine during the collision.
Tavares was injured early in the Maple Leafs’ Game 1 loss when he was checked by defenseman Ben Chiarot, fell to the ice, and was then accidentally collided into by Corey Perry as he tried to avoid him.
The Maple Leafs expect Tavares to be sidelined for at least two weeks as a result of the knee injury, but there is obviously no time frame on his recovery from the concussion so it is possible that he could be sidelined for significantly longer.
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Tavares is one of the Maple Leafs’ top offensive players, scoring 50 points (19 goals, 31 assists) in 56 games during the regular season.
Toronto enters Game 2 on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, CNBC) trailing the series 1-0 after the 2-1 loss on Thursday. Carey Price was sensational in goal for the Canadiens while Paul Byron scored a late shorthanded goal for the game-winner.
In Tavares’ absence it is expected that we will see Nick Foligno center the second line between Alex Galchenyuk and William Nylander.
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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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.