Toronto Maple Leafs forwards John Tavares, Calle Jarnkrok and Alex Steeves have been listed as day-to-day with injuries, the team announced Friday.
Tavares was hurt during Thursday’s pre-season game against Montreal when he was hit while breaking the puck out of the defensive zone by Canadiens winger Michael Pezzetta. The veteran centre slowly made his way to the bench in visible discomfort but returned to the game shortly after and scored a goal.
He finished the game with just 12:35 of ice time, fewer minutes than every forward except William Nylander.
Tavares noted after the game that his leg was stiffening up, and the team didn’t want to risk further injury.
Fortunately for the Leafs, Nylander was not listed with the injured players after exiting Thursday’s game in the first period after suffering an apparent upper-body injury.
“He’ll be OK, he’s fine,” head coach Craig Berube said of Nylander. “Nothing to worry about.”
Nylander’s injury came as the Leafs were chasing down the Canadiens in transition. Teammate Nick Robertson pushed Nylander with the end of his stick, knocking him onto the ice and into the leg of Montreal’s Christian Dvorak.
Nylander stayed down on the ice and grabbed at his head after the play. He immediately went to the team’s locker room and was later ruled out for “precautionary reasons.”
Jarnkrok has been sidelined with a lower-body injury for the past few days. The 32-year-old was limited to 52 games last season because of various injuries.
Steeves is also dealing with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old scored in his last appearance against the Ottawa Senators in pre-season action.
The Leafs also announced that defenceman Dakota Mermis had surgery on his jaw and is sidelined week-to-week. Mermis joined the Leafs on a one-year deal in the off-season.