Maple Leafs’ William Nylander ruled out vs. Golden Knights with lower-body injury

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander left Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period, and will not return due to a lower-body injury.

Nylander was off to a terrific start, registering a goal and an assist during the opening frame. It’s unclear when Nylander sustained his injury, although he played two more shifts after scoring, to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead.

TSN’s Mark Masters reports that Nylander may aggravated his lower-body injury while celebrating his goal. The forward also took a hit along the boards from Pavel Dorofeyev before leaving the contest.

The 29-year-old returned to the lineup on January 10, after missing six games with a lower-body injury sustained on December 27 against the Ottawa Senators.

It would be another crushing loss for the Maple Leafs if Nylander missed further time. Toronto is fighting its way back into a playoff spot after a dreadful start to the year, and turned the corner after Christmas, recording a 10-game point streak that was snapped in Tuesday’s loss to the Utah Mammoth. Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in scoring and is arguably the team’s most important player.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson also left during the first period after colliding with Golden Knights forward Cole Reinhardt, but returned for the second period. Here is the play in question.