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The least important thing about the Toronto Maple Leafs contest against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday was the result (a 2-1 victory by the Leafs courtesy of an unassisted second period Nick Robertson goal). The most important thing was that players critical to the club’s regular season and playoff success who left the game were not seriously injured.
John Tavares, who scored Toronto’s other goal on the PP in the first period, collided with a Montreal player the first period and was limited the rest of the contest. William Nylander also left the game after awkwardly falling into Habs forward Christian Dvorak.
"My leg was getting pretty stiff from the hit I took there in the first. It wasn't so bad afterwards, but kind of throughout the second and especially in the third it just got really, really stiff and I didn't have much," Tavares said. “(William) fell and I couldn’t tell if he got clipped or if he did, how he did.”
The Leafs were already dealing with the absence of Auston Matthews and Calle Jarnkrok, but according to head coach Craig Berube after the game, the club appears to have averted a disaster similar to the serious injury that Los Angeles encountered earlier in the week with defenseman Drew Doughty.
“(On the Nylander) play, he kind of got pushed from behind from (Robertson) and kind of fell and went into (a Montreal player). Berube said. “He’ll be OK, he’s fine….nothing to worry about.”
The contest also showed a better effort from veterans Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe, who struggled in their initial outing against Ottawa, rookie Easton Cowan, who had his ice time increased with the absence of Nylander, and goalie Matt Murray, who stopped all seven shots in the third period.
The Leafs will face the Habs in the second of their home-and-home preseason series at the Bell Centre on Saturday.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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