What was shaping up to be a positive night against a friend-turned-foe ended abruptly for William Nylander.
The Maple Leafs forward was ruled out for the remainder of Thursday's contest against Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights due to a lower-body injury.
After the game, head coach Craig Berube confirmed to reporters that Nylander aggravated a previous injury and was unsure how much time he would miss.
Nylander had helped the Maple Leafs carve out a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period, thanks to a goal — his 17th of the year — and an assist on Morgan Reilly's marker to open the scoring.
The 29-year-old left after less than three minutes of total ice time, going to the locker room before the opening frame was over, but it's unclear how the injury occurred.
After scoring his goal midway through the first, Nylander did appear to stumble while celebrating near the boards, but he stayed in the game for a few more shifts before exiting.
Following his two-point outing on Thursday before being ruled out, Nylander now has 17 goals and 31 assists on the year through 37 appearances.
Meanwhile, Oliver Ekman-Larsson also briefly exited the contest after taking a big hit from Golden Knights winger Cole Reinhardt in the first, but the defenceman was back on the Maple Leafs' bench to start the second.
Toronto already entered the night without blue-liner Simon Benoit, who was ruled out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
