William Nylander injury update: HC Craig Berube speaks on Maple Leafs forward's status after early exit vs. Senators

William Nylander left the Toronto Maple Leafs' 7-5 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. He suffered a lower-body injury at 6:22 in the second period. He wasn't seen on the bench after skating away gingerly, playing just under nine minutes during the game.

While there was little clarity on when the injury occurred, replays showed that Nylander's foot jammed near the Ottawa Senators' Linus Ullmark's goal, battling for the puck with Senators defenseman Artem Zub.

During his presser, head coach Craig Berube provided an update on Nylander's injury. He didn't seem concerned with the severity of the injury while concluding that his status for Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings was definitely in question.

"Well, he is coming on the trip, so that is a good sign," Berube said. "It’s lower-body. We’ll see how he is tomorrow."

William Nylander opened the scoring for the Leafs on Saturday. He scored with just 40 seconds in the first period, his eighth power play goal of the season and first under Steve Sullivan, who replaced Marc Savard in the coaching staff after the latter's firing on Monday.

The 29-year-old scored four points in his previous game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Swede has come under certain scrutiny for his on-ice efforts but continues to lead the franchise with 41 points in 33 games this season. In the four games that he has missed so far this season, Toronto has a 2-2-0 record.

“I don’t know what the extent is or what happened, but he is a big part of this team and drives a lot of play for us,” captain Auston Matthews said postgame. “You’re hoping for the best.”

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William Nylander and Matthew Knies' power play goals in the first period, and Auston Matthews, Max Domi and Nick Robertson's goals in the second period meant the Leafs were cruising at the end of the second period with a 5-2 lead.

But three quick goals from Ottawa in the third period, on either side of Matthew Knies' second goal, cut the lead down to 6-5 with over 10 minutes left to play in the game.

Head coach Craig Berube accepted his team's inability to stay strong in the third in a physical battle that produced offensive results.

“We talked about it before the game. Going back to last year in the playoffs, it’s a physical battle with this team, we know that,” Berube said. “I liked our battle tonight and physicality. We just got a little loose in the third.”

The Leafs have now scored 13 goals in their last two wins after losing five of their previous six games. They improved to a 17-15-5 record but remain in 15th place in the Eastern Conference.

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Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy