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.
After the game, head coach Craig Berube revealed that Nylander aggravated his prior lower-body injury, and did not provide a timeline for his return. 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’s hard. He’s back playing great, and he’s out again. We’ll see how long,” Berube said of Nylander’s injury post-game.
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.
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.
Ekman-Larsson went to the dressing room pic.twitter.com/uarnptYg16
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 16, 2026
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Simon Benoit was previously ruled out prior to puck drop with a lower-body injury, and is listed as day-to-day. Benoit will likely play in Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets after sustaining the injury during Thursday’s morning skate.
Philippe Myers replaced Benoit in the lineup. Chris Tanev remains out of the lineup indefinitely and is considering undergoing season-ending surgery, as the Maple Leafs’ blue line has weathered several injuries throughout the year.
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