Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was injured in Toronto's playoff opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, leaving the ice on a stretcher in a scary scene.
Tavares, who spent his first nine NHL seasons with the New York Islanders before signing with his hometown Leafs as a free agent in 2018, was knocked to the ice by an open-ice hit from Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot. On his way to the ground, Tavares absorbed a blow from Montreal winger Corey Perry, who kneed the veteran forward in the head.
Tavares was transported to a local hospital, where he was said to be both conscious and alert.
In retaliation for taking out Tavares, Maple Leafs trade deadline acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nick Foligno dropped gloves with Perry at the next faceoff with both players receiving five-minute majors for fighting.
Despite his reputation as an instigator and one of the league's more physical players, Perry's collision with Tavares didn't appear intentional in any way. Perry told reporters after the game he felt "sick to his stomach" seeing Tavares, his teammate on the Canadian men's national team that took gold at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, leave on a stretcher.
Despite seemingly knowing the collision with Tavares was an accident, Foligno still decided to challenge Perry to a fight, saying, "our captain was laying on the ice."
Toronto released a statement on Friday updating Tavares' condition, saying he has been discharged from the hospital and is back home under the care of team physicians. He will be out of the Maple Leafs lineup indefinitely.
The Maple Leafs, who finished atop the NHL's North Division during the regular season, would ultimately fall in Thursday's Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena, losing 2-1. They'll look to even the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET in Toronto.
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