Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander left Thursday’s preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens after hitting his head awkwardly on the ice during the first period.

Nylander was subsequently ruled out of the game for precautionary reasons, the team confirmed.

Nylander got up and skated directly to the locker room after colliding with Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak in the neutral zone. While skating through the middle of the ice, Nylander received a gentle, innocuous push from teammate Nick Robertson, which caused him to fall and he collided with Dvorak on the way down.

Here’s a video of the play:

Nylander was centring a line with Robertson and Bobby McMann during Toronto’s third preseason game. The 28-year-old is expected to get a prolonged look at centre throughout camp and into the season.

It would be a terrible loss for the Maple Leafs if Nylander misses any time whatsoever as one of the pillars of the franchise. Nylander played in all 82 regular season games in 2023-24 before missing three playoff games against the Boston Bruins.

UPDATE: Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told reporters post-game that Nylander is OK.