No structural damage for Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares after brutal injury

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares suffered no structural damage after taking a devastating blow in game one of the team’s playoff series.

Minutes into the game, Tavares fell to the ice after a hit from Habs defenceman Ben Chairot, then took an accidental knee to the head from Corey Perry.

Tavares was clearly shaken on the play and was stretchered off the ice and taken to hospital.

Saturday, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas spoke to media where he said Tavares suffered a concussion, but that there was no structural damage to his head, neck or spine. Dubas also said Tavares suffered a knee injury on the play that will take at least two weeks to heal.

“We will handle [Tavares’ concussion] in a very conservative [way] and handle it very sensitively,” Dubas said. “We will follow the protocols to a tee with that. We can’t repair [a head injury] so we have to be very careful and keep in mind that he’s got a young family [of two sons] and there’s an onus on us to protect him and his future in that regard.”

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.