Leafs Winger Alex Nylander Reacts to Simon Benoit Going after Tkachuk Following Cheap Shot

The Toronto Maple Leafs have not started the pre-season off on an overly strong note after dropping a second consecutive game to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, bringing them to 0-1-1 thus far in preliminary play.

It was a bit of a coming out party for Alex Steeves and Pontus Holmberg last night, with both players putting together strong performances in the 2-1 loss. One player who we expected to see more out of was Alex Nylander, who drew a top line assignment against the Sens in Ottawa. Unfortunately, Nylander wasn't able to rise to the occasion, partially because he was targeted early and often by the Sens' captain, Brady Tkachuk.

Early in the game, Tkachuk took a run at Nylander after the whistle, knocking him over and prompting a swift response from Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit, who came in to let Tkachuk know that the skilled guys are off-limits when it comes to that type of contact.

The retaliatory shoving match was something Nylander really appreciated from Benoit. As a skilled winger, Nylander isn't all that accustomed to the rough stuff, so when Benoit had his back, it meant a lot to him, as we discovered on Wednesday following practice.

Nylander finds himself listed in Group 2 as we enter the second week of training camp, which means he's very likely on the outside looking in at this point. The younger brother of William Nylander is most likely destined to begin his season in the AHL, where he'll put in the work in an attempt to earn himself an NHL deal in Toronto.