John Tavares explains details of his recent knee injury and why it wasn't as bad as it looked
The Toronto Maple Leafs were pretty happy to see their top-point producer return to the bench in the third period of the team's 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
"It's really not that bad,»
Tavares said following the team's practice on Wednesday. «There's no muscle on the nerve where it is. The swelling has been good.»
Tavares was writhing in pain on the ice in the third period when Rasmus Sandin's shot from the point hit the captain on the outside of his knee. He had to be helped off the ice by his linemates and was gone for approximately ten minutes when he re-emerged on the bench during the final TV timeout in an effort to help his team mount a comeback.
"You just expect the pain to go away a little bit quicker,»
Tavares explained. «I tried to get up just to get to the bench and I couldn't put any weight on it so it was just really uncomfortable. Once I got back into the hallway all I had to do was wait until I could put some weight on it."
"The doc said it was right in the nerves,"
he explained. «Earlier in the game, I got hit in the same quad. The leg wasn't firing, but when I came back, everything was stable.»
The 32-year-old Tavares is off to his best start since the 2018-19 when he recorded six goals and four assist in his first five games as a Maple Leaf. He currently leads the club with eight points (three goals, and five assists).
| POLL | ||
Who will lead the Maple Leafs in scoring for the 2022-2023 season? | ||
| John Tavares | 16 | 23.2 % |
| Auston Matthews | 30 | 43.5 % |
| Mitch Marner | 15 | 21.7 % |
| William Nylander | 8 | 11.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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