DENVER — William Nylander had just driven the Toronto Maple Leafs to an improbable and intoxicating 6-3 comeback win against the smothering attack of the Avalanche and amid the thin air of Colorado.
So, before fulfilling his media duties, or locating a T-shirt, Nylander quietly approached Chris Tanev. The offensive engine and defensive rock exchanged a few words in the bowels of Ball Arena as teammates ran through their post-win lift.
Tanev had left with an undisclosed upper-body injury in the first period after an innocuous bump from behind by Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen.
It was the type of not-overly-violent whiplash contact that could have fans flashing back to Nov. 1, when a mild knock from Flyers forward Matvei Michkov had sent the recently concussed Tanev to the ice, onto a stretcher, then to the hospital. Tanev also suffered a core muscle injury last season, a nightmare winter that ended with spring surgery.
The 36-year-old played just 11 games in 2025-26. Despite on-record and off-record assurances that the warrior veteran was “as healthy as anybody” (GM John Chayka’s words) to start the season, Tanev didn’t make it through Game 6 in 2026-27.
“That’s not fun to see,” Nylander said. “I really don’t know what happened, but hopefully he’s OK.”
“Tanny’s like the anchor of the back end,” Blankenburg added. “Just shut down defensively, him and (Jake McCabe). And that sucks seeing a guy go down the tunnel, whoever it is. But hopefully it’s not too serious.”
Coach Jim Hiller did not have an update on the severity of Tanev’s latest injury, and the Maple Leafs don’t hit the ice until Monday, when they’ll practise in Park City, Utah. That Tanev was walking around in his suit is encouraging.
“You’re always concerned, whether it’s him or anybody, when you see a player not be able to finish the game,” Hiller said. “So, yeah, always concerned about my players.”
“I mean, he’s honestly probably the toughest guy I’ve played with — with what he’s played through and what he can play through,” McCabe said.
One worries for the athlete, foremost.
Fans worry, too, for the state of the Maple Leafs defence corps should Tanev — integral to an excellent penalty kill and a happy consumer of all toughest matchups — miss significant time.
Make no mistake: The Leafs kinda stole this game from the Avalanche, thanks to sturdy special teams, timely strikes from superstars, and a rather awful showing by Avs goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who allowed three goals on four Toronto shots in Period 2 and posted a .773 save percentage.
Led by the speedy MacKinnon (two goals), Colorado appeared the faster and more organized side. The Avalanche lost despite holding significant edges in shots (33-22), scoring chances (49-18), and high-danger looks (18-8), per NaturalStatTrick.com.
“It’s always tough here,” Matthews said. “I mean, they’re a really good team. They move the puck well. Their top six can really create and generate time in the offensive zone and can make it really hard. But I thought we did a good job weathering the storm. Bob came up with some huge saves, and the power play came through. PK was solid. And sometimes you just gotta weather the storm, bend don’t break, and just grind out a win. I thought we did that tonight.”
Indeed. And credit to these Leafs, for flashing resiliency and dressing the superior goalie and swiping three of four points against titans in Vegas and Denver.
That one skater excitedly piped, “Green light night!” before leaving town was understandable. This was a big win.
But killing plays, defending the rush, and breaking out smoothly were already underlying issues before Tanev went down. Now, those storm clouds will only darken if Toronto is forced to persevere without its best pure defenceman.
“He’s a heart-and-soul guy. He plays a big role on our back end. Shutdown guy. So, you’re hoping it’s nothing serious and that he’ll be all right,” Matthews said. “But we’ll see. Obviously, it’s a tough loss.”
That undercuts an emotional win.
• McKenna needed all of one shift on the Maple Leafs’ top power-play unit to set up a goal. Then his diligent backcheck led to Toronto’s second power-play strike.
That top unit has been screaming for an elite passer, but the rookie only got the opportunity Saturday because his landlord, John Tavares, was absent. He also saw 5-on-5 shifts to the left of Nylander and Matthews.
“Every game he’s taking steps. We just played Vegas and Colorado, and you’re a young guy at 18 years old. To play those two games back-to-back, it’s pretty impressive. And he’s dynamic — you know that,” Hiller said.
“We’re not just giving that to him. He’s earned that. And you could see down the road where this is going to go with him. But for now, at that young age, if he’s earned it, we’re going to give him a crack to do that.”
• Blankenburg needed to wait until Game 6 of the season to dress, but only one shift as a Maple Leaf to score.
The defenceman sniped a beauty to open the scoring — and register the season’s first goal by a Leafs defenceman — at 3:03. He wears No. 3. The last Toronto D-man to score in his first game for the team? Justin Holl, who also wore No. 3.
“First time you get into game in the year, you’re a little bit nervous, but I think it’s a good kind of nervous. Like, excited,” Blankenburg said. “To get one there in the first shift definitely felt nice. Kind of took a weight off my shoulders and just kind of go out there and play.”
• Matthews has piled six assists over the past three games. Half of those have plays have been finished by Nylander.
“We know what they can do together,” Hiller said. “When I was here (as Mike Babcock’s assistant), they played together all the time, so we always know that’s a go-to. We want to try to find some more chemistry with some other guys… If those things don’t work, then we’ll probably lean more on that.”
• New dad (again, for the fourth time) Tavares has one more name to inscribe on the top of his hockey sticks when he returns to the team.
“Great news there. Tucker Tavares, a 10-pounder,” Hiller announced Friday. “We’ve got ourselves a power forward on the way.”
How’s that for a beauty hockey name? Tucker Tavares. Somewhere, Darcy smiles.
• Nylander’s five-point effort allowed him to become the fifth-fastest Leaf to 700 points and swipe sole possession of seventh place on the club’s all-time goal list (297), passing George Armstrong and Frank Mahovlich.
“He was just all over it tonight. One of those games where it just seemed like he had the puck on his stick a lot, and he was making things happen,” Matthews said. “It’s a big-time game from him.”
Hiller sees a more mature player, physically and mentally, than the one he coached in his first tour with the Leafs.
“He was always strong then, but now he’s a real powerful player, and he understands the game really well with and without the puck,” Hiller said.
“When I first was with him young, he was an offensive player, and you’re trying to teach him how to play the game without the puck. Now he knows to play the game without the puck. I think that’s probably the biggest difference.”