John Tavares Returns to Game Four After Injury Scare vs. the Senators

With Toronto and Ottawa in a heated battle in Game 4, with the Maple Leafs trying to sweep the series and the Senators trying to extend their season a little bit longer, things are at peak tension and intensity.

So with the game in its most intense point, it seems the Maple Leafs lost one of their key players as John Tavares was taken down in front of the net by Ottawa's Artem Zub, and left the game after it looked like he easily clearly shaken up.

It's unknown the severity of the injury to Tavares at this current time but things don't look great for the Maple Leafs going forward if it's anything serious.

Tavares has been a huge reason why Toronto has been so successful through the first three games of the series and had a goal in the fourth game before being taken out.

This season has been an incredible turnaround for Tavares after so much speculation about whether or not he would be able to get back to the elite level l of production that fans had come to expect.

In 74 games this season, Tavares registered 74 points (38G, 36A) and had the most goals as a Maple Leaf since his debut with the team in 2018-19 when he had 47.

He did miss some time earlier this season after getting injured during a practice scrimmage after getting tied up with defenseman Simon Benoit, and while things were initially feared to be the worst, he made a full recovery and played fantastic down the stretch.

A free agent at the end of the season, Tavares is more than likely sticking around for the rest of his career, but it's not a good sign that as the time ticks away, he has still yet to appear on the Toronto bench.

***UPDATE***

John Tavares triumphantly made his return to the Toronto bench after giving everyone a good scare after leaving for the first ten minutes of overtime.

It's a massive boost for the Maple Leafs given that Tavares has been vital to the team's success this season.