John Tavares Slow to Get Up After a Dirty Knee from Montreal's Michael Pezzetta

The Maple Leafs are already dealing with injury issues early on in the pre-season, so when John Tavares was slow to get up following a hard knee-on-knee hit from Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta, Leafs Nation held their collective breath as Tavares slowly made his way to the Leafs' bench.

As you can see in the first clip, Pezzetta extends his leg forward as Tavares looks to sneak past him on the boards, making clear contact with the knee. These types of hits can quickly derail a player's season, so, naturally, the Leafs were frustrated with the hit. With Ryan Reaves dressed tonight, it seems like a forgone conclusion that he and Pezzetta will have a conversation at some point during the game.

Thankfully, after being worked on briefly by the Maple Leafs' trainer on the bench, Tavares was able to remain in the game and even scored the game's opening goal.

The Leafs came into Thursday evening's game with an 0-1-1 record to kick off the pre-season, so I'm sure they'd enjoy the opportunity to get back in the win column tonight.