Maple Leafs Coach’s Update On Star Not Great News For Bruins

Toronto earned a two-game split in Boston with one of its best players unavailable to start the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And unfortunately for the Bruins, those contests at TD Garden might’ve marked the only tilts of the first-round series where the Maple Leafs were without their full slate of star power.

William Nylander, the only Leaf to play in all 82 regular-season games, was out of action last Saturday and Monday due to an undisclosed injury. Nylander took a step forward before Toronto-Boston Game 2 when he took the ice for morning skate, although he did not participate in line rushes. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe noted the 2024 All-Star “looked good” during the practice session, albeit not good enough to play that evening.

Nylander might be available to Keefe on Wednesday night, though. Speaking with reporters Tuesday morning, Toronto’s bench boss said the 27-year-old is “a possibility” for Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena, per TSN’s Mark Masters.

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Now, it should be acknowledged that Keefe left the door open for Nylander to play in Game 2 in the lead-up to puck drop. As we’ve seen with Jim Montgomery’s handling of the Bruins goalie situation, maintaining any lineup secrecy is of the essence in the postseason.

But if an injury is serious enough, it’s tough to hide from it. After Monday’s game, Montgomery divulged the severity of Andrew Peeke’s undisclosed ailment. Nylander, meanwhile, appears to be dealing with something not terribly troubling and might be on the cusp of returning to the ice.

And when that happens, Boston’s challenge of trying to dispatch Toronto will only become more difficult.