The Toronto Maple Leafs are in action against the divisional rival Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena, and the good news is that newly-acquired star forward Kirill Marchenko has notched his first hat trick since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The bad news is that the Leafs, who are already without the services of veteran defenseman Chris Tanev because of injury, have now lost former captain John Tavares to an injury of his own.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares Helped Off The Ice After Scary Injury
After a scary collision with Buffalo’s Josh Norris, Tavares fell to the ice in clear pain, and needed assistance in getting off the ice.
So far this season, Tavares is scoring at a point-per-game pace with seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven games played.
Understandably, angst was building among fans of the Maple Leafs when the injury was announced.
“John Tavares injured…😐 Can we please not start with all these injuries,” lamented one fan.
“OH MY GOD NO PROTECT JOHN TAVARES PLEASE IM SCARED,” exclaimed another fan.
John Tavares Recently Missed A Game After His Family Welcomed Child No. 4
Tavares was recently absent for Toronto’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, as his wife gave birth to the couple’s fourth child.
Immediately upon returning, he was reinstated by head coach Jim Hiller on the club’s top power play unit, something that he called an easy decision to make.
“We’re talking about John Tavares. It’s a pretty easy decision to get John back in there. He’s had a great career. He’s still a great goal scorer. That wasn’t a hard one at all,” Hiller said of Tavares on Tuesday via The Leafs Nation.
Meanwhile, Tavares expressed excitement over the numerous changes that the Leafs made during the offseason.
“Obviously an offseason that was way too long for us, and a lot has happened, a lot has gone on, but a lot of hard work has been put in, and I think everyone’s excited to just get going again and start the long grind,” Tavares said on September 28.
John Tavares Injured In Scary Moment For Maple Leafs