The most interesting moment of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche didn’t come on the ice.
During the third period of Sunday’s game, TSN’s broadcast panned up to the press box, where the Maple Leafs’ scratches and injured players were sitting. Pictured were Philippe Myers, Calle Jarnkrok, Chris Tanev, Dakota Joshua, and William Nylander.
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Just before the broadcast cut away from the players’ box, Nylander spotted the camera and, with a smile, stuck up the middle finger.
The 29-year-old is currently dealing with a groin injury, which he re-aggravated in Toronto’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 15. Nylander scored a goal and an assist in the game but only played 2:17.
He’s missed the last five games due to the ailment.
Nylander originally picked up the groin injury against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 27. It’s unknown how the forward suffered the injury, which eventually forced him to miss six straight games before returning against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 10.
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The forward skated on Saturday, the first time he’s been on the ice since re-aggravating the injury against the Golden Knights. Nylander and Joshua skated for 20 minutes before leaving the ice.
“We’ll see where he progresses, and how he felt,” said head coach Craig Berube on Saturday. “Hopefully, he can keep getting on the ice here and be ready to go. I can’t give you a timeline on [his return] yet.”
Despite missing 11 games from Dec. 27 to now, Nylander still leads the Maple Leafs with 17 goals and 48 points in 37 games. John Tavares is second among Toronto players with 19 goals and 44 points in 52 games.
Toronto’s loss to Colorado was its fourth straight home defeat. The Maple Leafs have picked up just one point during that stretch, in an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
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The Maple Leafs currently sit five points away from the second wild-card spot, held by the Boston Bruins. Toronto plays the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, and it’s now arguably one of the biggest games of their season.
“We got to fix the execution part for me,” said Berube after Sunday’s loss to the Avalanche. “And then the battle level. When you get down in a game, we got to come together as a team and we got to fight through that, because it’s going to happen. We all know that.
“But I think losing at home here, it’s worn on our team a little bit. But that’s pro sports and we got to all pull together here and get ready for Tuesday. We need a win.”
