Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has provided a tentative return date for William Nylander, who has now missed 4 games due to injury.
Heading into tonight's contest against the New York Islanders, the Toronto Maple Leafs are once again without the services of star forward William Nylander for the 4th straight contest.
There haven't been any truly detailed updates offered up by the Leafs since he last suited up on the 27th of December against the Ottawa Senators. However, that stance changed a little bit today when head coach Craig Berube gave us some insight on Nylander's status.
"He's progressing. I think he's trending in the right direction, and now my hope is maybe he's back with us Monday on the ice practicing."
In his absence, the Maple Leafs have surprisingly gone 2-0-1 over their last 3 games, while outscoring the opposition 12-7. The power play has also been producing, going 5-for-10 over that same span. Nevertheless, having him back in the lineup would only improve the Leafs' potent offense.
Despite missing 7 games this season, the Swedish Olympian leads the team with 27 assists and 41 points. Prior to his most recent injury, Nylander had 3 goals and 5 points in the first two games with Steve Sullivan behind the bench, pointing to the potential of a massive second half for the Leafs' star players.
After tonight's game, the Leafs will return home as they prepare for the Florida Panthers to roll into town for a Tuesday night matchup. As Berube intimates, we probably won't have a good idea on Nylander's status until Monday morning when the Leafs resume practicing. Hopefully it's good news.