Leafs Facing Serious Trouble After William Nylander’s Injury Update
One day before starting their postseason run on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs held a practice on Friday, April 19, in which neither William Nylander nor Bobby McMann were present.
Nylander and McMann both missed the training session and were absent on the ice. Toronto is scheduled to play Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Boston Bruins, the third consecutive time both franchises have kicked off the playoffs meeting each other.
“Nylander and McMann both stayed off the ice today, but both are possibilities for tomorrow,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters after practice on April 19. “That’s it.”
Keefe’s update was, in fairness, rather empty of value when it comes to detailing the status of Nylander and McMann and the reasons that held them out of practice.
There was, however, a reason for Keefe’s vagueness in providing an injury update.
“[Leafs’ General Manager Brad Treliving] has made it pretty clear there’s not going to be any daily injury updates or anything like that,” Keefe revealed.
During the final month of regular-season play, Nylander failed to score a single goal in 11 games. The forward, however, was hot right before that scoring 6 goals in the seven games he played before that empty run.
Leafs’ center Calle Jarnkrok spoke after practice on April 19, noticing the absence of Nylander and providing some reasons for concern if the winger cannot play against the Bruins on Game 1, scheduled for puck drop on Saturday.
