Nylander departed the club's game late in the third period with little detail about the player's status for Saturday.
William Nylander’s status for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ home matchup against the Buffalo Sabres remains in question after the star winger departed the club’s 5-3 loss on Friday.
“We’ll see tomorrow,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of Nylander’s status. Berube did not provide any further update, only saying he has to see the player.
Nylander left the game in the third period after a shift that saw him get cross-checked in the arm by Sabres forward Jason Zucker. After getting up from the hit, Nylander collided with teammate Dakota Joshua.
Goaltender Anthony Stolarz emphasized Nylander's impact as the club goes through some struggles falling to 3-4-1 this season.
"You look at the way he played tonight, and he played awesome—up and down the ice, checking and getting that goal," Stolarz said. "He’s been an integral part of our team so far this year; his numbers back that up. Hopefully, he's okay and he's back with us tomorrow".
Nylander leads the Leafs in scoring with three goals and 11 assists in eight games. He started Friday’s game with Auston Matthews, as Berube looked to find more offense from his top line.
The durable Nylander has not missed a regular season game since April 4, 2022, when he sat out against the Tampa Bay Lightning due to a non-Covid-19 related illness. He did, however, miss a portion of Toronto’s 2024 first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins due to eye migraines that impacted his vision.
Already playing without Chris Tanev (upper-body injury) and Morgan Rielly (undisclosed), the loss of Nylander could be disastrous, given Toronto’s struggle to generate consistent offense
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