Maple Leafs play it safe with John Tavares, set return date for the captain

NEWARK, N.J. — History will show Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was scratched for Tuesday night’s game in New Jersey.

He wasn’t exactly a healthy scratch, nor was he really an injured scratch. He was somewhere in between, a kind of better-safe-than-sorry scratch.

Though he practiced in full on Monday and took a full morning skate on Tuesday, the team took the cautious approach with its captain who has a history of concussions and woke up feeling not right on Sunday.

“Obviously feeling good and would love to be in,” said Tavares. “But the medical staff and I think as we talked through things, it was best just to be precautionary.”

Tavares wasn’t the only big name to miss the game. The team said Ryan O’Reillyunderwent successful surgery in Toronto to repair a broken left index finger and that he would be out four weeks.

“We’ll give him that time, of course,” said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. “With the nature of the injury, I think we’ll see him back on his skates pretty quickly. And that’s a good sign. We’ll welcome him back when he’s good and ready.”

Keefe said he expected Tavares to return to action Saturday when the Oilers visit.

Tavares took a couple of big his Saturday in Vancouver. The Leafs then took a red-eye flight right after the game, across the continent, to New Jersey. It was waking up Sunday morning when things didn’t feel right for the captain.

“No dizziness,” said Tavares. “I was pretty tired, just felt a little drained. We had the long flight. That evening (had trouble) just trying to get my bearings and just get acclimated again. So just not feeling what I would consider to be my normal.

“But I had a great evening, a great sleep, woke up (Monday) feeling really good. It could have been just a tough three (games) in four (nights), travelling across the country. So we’re just being on the cautious side of it.”

Tavares has a history of concussions. And though he didn’t use that word it’s clear the effects of concussions are clearly on his mind. If he needs any reminders, Jake Muzzin — whose season is over due a broken neck — was standing near Tavares as he took reporters’ questions.

“You don’t want to overanalyze,” said Tavares. “It’s easy to overthink things. So you’re trying to not get anxious about stuff. I didn’t feel horrible, like I couldn’t get out of bed or anything. I just felt like it was important to just relay that message to the medical staff, to just be to be open and they follow up with myself. It’s a better way to gauge where things were at.

“As things have progressed over the next 24 hours, I’m back to myself, feeling normal. So it’s more of just following was protocols are, looking at it as a precautionary measure.”

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