Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said it’s all good between him and teammate Nicholas Robertson following a bizarre incident during Thursday’s pre-season game over the Montreal Canadiens.
As the Leafs were chasing the Canadiens in transition during the first period, Robertson gave Nylander a push with the blade of his stick. Nylander fell to the ice and slid head-first into the leg of Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak.
Nylander remained on the ice and grabbed his head before going to the dressing room. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game due to “precautionary reasons.”
The 28-year-old spoke to reporters on Friday, and chalked it up to just an accident.
“He called me after the game and I said all good,” Nylander said. “He scored, so it’s all good.”
Robertson scored the game-winning goal in the second period as the Leafs beat the Canadiens 2-1.
“Obviously, elephant in the room, with the Willy situation. It’s unfortunate, I was trying to give him a bit of a boost there,” Robertson said after the game. “It is what it is. … He’s doing good and we’ll see how he is in the next few days.”
Nylander, who was a full participant in Friday’s practice, said he wasn’t ready for the stick push from Robertson but it’s OK.
“He did it properly. Also, the ice is a little bit soft at the beginning of the year, so I think that also contributed to me digging forward into the ice a little bit, so led to a toe pick but whatever,” Nylander said. “It is what it is.”
The Maple Leafs return to pre-season action Saturday night in a rematch against the Canadiens.
