With that, it ultimately concludes what has turned out to be a brutal 2025-26 campaign for Tanev and the Maple Leafs where he had spent more time on the sidelines than on the ice. The 36-year-old defenseman had missed almost two months of action earlier in the season due to a concussion. Following his return in late December, Tanev would subsequently suffer another groin injury just a few days later and had been on the injured reserve ever since.
He'll be fine, it's more precaution sitting him out," head coach Derek King told Hershey's Zack Fisch. Protas suffered a lower-body injury against the Senators in Saturday's 6-3 defeat. He was one of seven Bears players listed on the team's injury report before Sunday's puck drop.
William Nylander was injured leading up to the Olympic Games, but returned for the Maple Leafs final three games before travelling to Milan. Head Coach Sam Hallam spoke about Nylander's absence, mentioning, "It's a maintenance thing." "He's done two full ice practices with us and felt after yesterday a bit sore after yesterday, so just give him an extra day. And then we'll see for tomorrow if he's ready to go. It's going to be a pretty late decision."
Berube: We wanted to just get moving again, with a lot of puck touches and skating up and down the ice. That is basically what practice was. The guys worked hard, and I thought they looked pretty good, given the amount of time they had off. Berube: It is great having him back out there. We'll see where he gets to. He is feeling good and ready to go. We'll see how it goes this week.
With 6:14 remaining in the second period, Protas collected a loose puck in neutral and dumped it into the offensive zone. As he did, Rocket forward Tyler Thorpe approached from Ilya's blind side, attempting to send Protas hard into the boards. Little Pro managed to sidestep most of the impact, but Thorpe connected hard with his left leg, sending him tumbling to the ice.
Sandin was hurt with just 19 seconds remaining in the first frame, absorbing a hit from Oilers forward Curtis Lazar against the boards. After getting up slowly, Sandin got back into position and made a big shot block on defender Ty Emberson with the inside of his leg. The 25-year-old Swede needed assistance to get back to the team's bench once the horn sounded to end the period.
We are not sure of the cause of the injury, and whether it is upper or lower-body, which could be a good or bad thing. Berube mentioned that he doesn't believe that the injury is a reason for concern, but the Leafs won't know until the testing is completed. McCabe suffered an upper-body injury back on November 22nd, but did not miss anytime.
