The Toronto Maple Leafs got a scare in a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night when star forward William Nylander left the game midway through the first period after taking a knock to the head.
He was held out for the rest of the game for what the team called “precautionary reasons.” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Nylander avoided serious injury and would be OK.
“Willy will be fine,” said Berube. “Nothing to worry about.”
Nylander was the latest Maple Leafs star to suffer an injury scare, as Auston Matthews departed practice this week with what Berube deemed an upper-body ailment. Matthews did not play on Thursday.
John Tavares and Nick Robertson scored for Toronto in the Maple Leafs’ first win of the pre-season. Christian Dvorak tallied for Montreal.
The Maple Leafs outshot the Canadiens 33-17.
Nylander was tripped up in the neutral zone and hit in the head by a passing …