Nylander says he wasn't expecting the boost by Nick Robertson on the backcheck, which contributed to him being out of the game.
William Nylander is all good after taking a knee to the head in the Maple Leafs' pre-season game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
The 28-year-old left in the first period after Nick Robertson attempted to give Nylander a push on the backcheck, which resulted in the forward falling into the leg of Christian Dvorak.
Toronto announced at the beginning of the second period that Nylander wouldn't return to the game due to precautionary reasons
"Yeah, just a little accidental or whatever incident," Nylander said on Friday. "But yeah, nothing more than that."
Nylander added that Robertson called him after the game to check up on him after what had happened.
"Yeah, he called me after the game, I said I was all good. He scored, so it's all good."
That type of play happens fairly often in hockey where a teammate gives a backchecking player a push to gain more speed entering their zone. Very rarely does an incident like that — where a player suffers an injury — happen.
Nylander, though, just wasn't expecting the push from Robertson.
"I just wasn't ready for it because it didn't feel like it was needed," he said. "But I wasn't really ready for it, but it's okay."
The new ice at Scotiabank Arena, which has only seen two NHL pre-season games since being added back in, might've also contributed to Nylander's tumble, he says.
"Yeah, I mean, yeah, he [gave me a push] properly. I think also the ice has been really soft at the beginning of the year, so I think that also contributes to me taking it forward into the ice a little bit. But, whatever, it is what it is."
Nylander was back on the ice at Ford Performance Centre on Friday, participating in a mainly-special teams centered skate. The forward said he feels good and is gearing up for what's likely to be one more pre-season game before the NHL regular season gets underway.
"We're feeling good and dial up our game for that game and feel confident going into the beginning of the season."
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