As the Leafs prepared for Game 1 against the Boston Bruins yesterday, Nylander's absence was at the forefront of discussions. It came as a surprise, given that he had played in all 82 games this season and many took it as he was merely given a maintenance day. Following practice Sheldon Keefe revealed that Nylander was only a «possibility» to play in tonight's series opener along with Bobby McMann, who missed the Leafs' last two regular season games.
Today, TSN's Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger revealed that Nylander woke up Thursday morning and felt some discomfort. It's clear that no one knows if it was a lingering issue or something new as CJ and Dreger had conflicting information in that regard. If it is something he had been playing through, it may explain why he ended the season on an 11-game goalless streak, only registering 4 assists in that span.
If Nylander is unable to play tonight, it would force a major shakeup among the Leaf forward lines, which is not the way you want to begin the playoffs.
POLL | ||
AVRIL 20 | 555 ANSWERS New details on William Nylander's mysterious injury revealed How many goals will William Nylander score in the 2023-24 Stanley Cup Playoffs? | ||
Less than 4 | 328 | 59.1 % |
5-9 | 160 | 28.8 % |
10-14 | 47 | 8.5 % |
15 or more | 20 | 3.6 % |
List of polls |