William Nylander's official status for tonight's Game 3 revealed

For several hours now, the talk around the NHL and among Leaf fans was about whether William Nylander would play in Game 3 or not. Now we have our answer.

Per TSN's Mark Masters, Nylander did not take to the ice for pre-game warmups ahead of Game 3. He'll miss his 3rd game of the series as a result.


Nylander is a game-changer for the Maple Leafs, make no mistake about it. A team is better with a 98-point player in the lineup than without - especially in a game as important as Game 3, with the series already tied at 1-1. They've missed him all series long, but they'll really miss him tonight.


Nylander was believed to have sustained some sort of a head injury, according to reports, in the 82nd game of the season during a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and has missed both Game 1 and Game 2 as a result of his ailment.

There's been some talk about whether the Nylander injury is actually a concussion. If so, it makes complete sense as to why the Maple Leafs' medical staff has not cleared him to return. With all we know about CTE and traumatic head injuries, teams are taking less and less chances, and rightfully so.

With the 27-year-old winger now listed as out for Game 3, his next opportunity to play will be in Saturday night's Game 4 in Toronto. The extra day off between games my do Nylander wonders in the health department and provide him with some additional rest.

For now, all we can do is just sit back and hope for the best.