While William Nylander’s inclusion on the trip to Detroit offers a glimmer of hope, his potential absence looms large for a Maple Leafs team facing the division-leading Red Wings without their star winger.
There’s good news and bad news regarding the latest injury to Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander. The Swedish forward left in the second period of Toronto’s 7-5 win against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury, after which head coach Craig Berube provided an update on his status.
“Well, he's coming on a trip, so that's a good sign,” Berube said. “We'll see how he is tomorrow”.
The Leafs boarded a flight to Detroit immediately after the game to prepare for Sunday's matchup against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Given the team is only out of town for a single game, Nylander’s presence on the trip is a positive indicator. While it remains unclear exactly when he sustained the injury, he departed the game shortly after taking a slash to the legs from Senators defenseman Artem Zub.
This is not Nylander's first setback this season; he previously missed three games due to a lower-body injury after being cross-checked by Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker on October 24. Despite his limited ice time on Saturday, he made a significant impact by scoring on his only shot—a power-play tally for a unit that desperately needs production.
Toronto’s two power-play goals proved to be the margin of victory as the team held on in the third period against a middle-of-the-pack Senators squad. The Leafs now face a difficult task against the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings—a challenge that becomes significantly tougher if Nylander is unavailable.
“Willy's so valuable. We'll see how he is,” teammate Nick Robertson said. “The good thing about this group is that we've got so much depth. It's unfortunate if we lose him, but I'm sure guys will come in and do their job”.
The Leafs are 2-2-0 this season in the four games Nylander has missed. His absence shifts the team's dynamic, as his recent placement on John Tavares’ wing had stabilized the top-six forwards while the team experimented with different combinations alongside Auston Matthews. Without him, the coaching staff has shown a preference for keeping the remaining lines intact, occasionally double-shifting players to fill the void alongside Tavares and Matias Maccelli.