William Nylander reportedly expected to play Game 3

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is expected to play Wednesday’s Game 3 against the Boston Bruins, according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.

Nylander has been held out of the first two games of the series with an unspecified injury. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has refused to provide specific details about Nylander’s injury, ostensibly under the order of general manager Brad Treliving.

“I’d be surprised if we didn’t, just given the fact that we saw him skate a couple of times in Boston and just how hard it is to miss games at this time of the year,” Johnston said on TSN’s First Up, when asked if we’d see Nylander play Game 3. “It didn’t seem to be too grave a concern around him, internally anyways. There’s a high probability we’ll see him on the ice here today.”

Johnston has reported comprehensively on Nylander’s status since he first missed practice Thursday, casting into doubt his availability for the series overall. It would be a massive development for the Maple Leafs if Nylander returns to the lineup, as he’s an essential part of the power and spread offense concepts. Nylander just completed a 40-goal, 98-point campaign and could potentially slot into the lineup alongside Pontus Holmberg and Calle Jarnkrok.

Toronto split the first two games of the series on the road without Nylander. Auston Matthews and Ilya Samsonov authored the definitive games of their careers on Monday, leading the Maple Leafs to a thrilling 3-2 victory. Nylander took part in Monday’s morning skate but he did not take warmups and was eventually ruled out of Game 2.

The team has yet to officially confirm Nylander’s status and though the Maple Leafs have refused to publicly expand on his status, it would appear that No. 88 is suiting up for Game 3.

The Leafs Nation will update this story as further developments unfold.