Tavares ‘back home and recovering’
First, John Tavares reached out to his teammates to tell them that he was OK after suffering a concussion in Game 1 of the Maple Leafs’ playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens. Then he reached out to his fans.
“The support I’ve felt since last night cannot be put into words,” Tavares tweeted Friday. “I’m thankful to share that I’m back home and recovering.”
He thanked the medical staff of both teams who came to his aid after he was hit with a knee to the head in the first period, as well as the Leafs organization and fans.
“I look forward to when I can wear the Maple Leaf on my chest against. Until then, I’ll be cheering on the boys along with Leafs Nation as we compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.”
Tavares, who is out indefinitely, was in contact with teammates while in hospital Thursday night.
“John is such a natural leader that he has taken it upon himself to reach out to guys to make sure that they know he’s doing good,” long-time friend Jason Spezza said. “That just speaks to his character, that he’s the guy in the hospital and he’s worried about us, making sure we’re ready to go.”
Tavares took a Corey Perry knee to his head as he fell after being hit by Ben Chiarot in the first period of Toronto’s 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series. It cast a pall over the game, so his teammates were happy to hear from him.
“The biggest thing is that there was communication,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
“That put everybody at ease a little bit.”
Keefe confirmed Tavares suffered a concussion. He was assessed by the neurosurgical team at St. Michael’s Hospital and the club’s medical director, kept overnight for observation, and sent home Friday morning.
“To see that he’s doing well and resting at home, we’re very relieved at that,” Keefe said. “Now we’ve got to pick up here, not just from that but coming off of a loss.”
The loss of Tavares is a blow to the team’s hopes of making a long run in the playoffs, removing an offensive threat and the team’s leader.
“Missing him is tough,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “But the expectation is that we’re going to have guys that can embrace bigger roles and step up and play well. In order to get back into the series, that’s what we’re going to need.”
Keefe rejigged his second line, with Nick Foligno moving from the wing to centre, and Alex Galchenyuk coming into the lineup to play left wing. William Nylander remains on the right side. Pierre Engvall will also see action as the third-line centre, replacing Riley Nash between Alex Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev.
“Both guys (Galchenyuk and Engvall) bring degrees of speed and skill,” Keefe said. “The dynamics of our group change when John’s not in. So I just felt we have to make some changes to compensate for that. This gives us a little bit more of a push offensively and a greater depth throughout in the skill and speed department.”
Game 2 is Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena. Spezza said Perry, or any need for retribution, won’t be an issue.
“We’re going to make it so it’s not a distraction,” Spezza said. “It was addressed. It’s a physical game. I don’t think anybody, Perry included, wants to see John lying on the ice like that. No doubt, it’s playoffs and there’s bad blood between teams. I don’t think anybody wants to see anybody lay on the ice like that, so we’re going to move forward.”