Nylander is dealing with a lingering lower-body injury that has already forced the player to miss one game this season.
COLUMBUS, Ohio. — After returning from a one-game absence with a lower-body injury, William Nylander will once again sit out when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday.
Nylander returned to the lineup in Toronto’s 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. The star forward missed the previous game against the Buffalo Sabres after he was injured in the third period of the club’s first matchup against Buffalo last week.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said he’s not concerned about Nylander’s injury continuing to linger.
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“I think he's getting better, but he thought he could play last game, and he did. And, you know, I thought he played okay. I mean, he did some good things in the game, and, you know, he played through it and helped us win,” Berube said on Wednesday. “So, I think he'll be fine. I really do. You get two days after this before we play again.
Nylander picked up an assist and logged 18:49 of ice time against Calgary. Berube admitted that some managing of the player’s rest could be a factor.
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Nylander missed his first regular-season game in over three years on Saturday.
“A little bit, and him managing himself,” Ny;ander said. “If he says he's going to play, I want him to play. But at the same time, when he says he can't do certain things and stuff like that, then that's where we've got to manage him.”
With Nylander out of the lineup, Sammy Blais will make his Maple Leafs and season debut. Claimed off waivers before the regular season began, Blais has been a healthy scratch for the club’s first 10 games of the regular season.
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Sammy Blais is back playing with head coach Craig Berube.
“Sammy's going to play his game. He goes out, he's a physical player, and, you know, he's going to take the body,” Berube said of Blaid. “ He's going to forecheck hard. He's got the capability of making something happen in the offensive zone, especially in tight areas. He's got good hands in tight areas. So, you'll just go play his game.
Nick Robertson will move back onto the first line to skate with Auston Matthews and Bobby McMann and Blais will likely slot in as the club’s fourth-line winger alongside Steven Lorentz and Max Domi.
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