Leafs Fans Hold Their Breath as Chris Tanev Injured in Scary Collision

With the Toronto Maple Leafs looking to get back on track after an OT loss on Saturday, they headed back into the fray against New Jersey, and things started well enough.

John Tavares got goal #498 for his career, and the team was protecting Anthony Stolarz after he implored them for more help, though not everything was sunshine and rainbows.

During the first period, defenseman Chris Tanev awkwardly collided with forward Devils forward Dawson Mercer and immediately crumpled to the ice in clear agony, needing to be helped off the ice.

The Maple Leafs officially announced that Tanev would not return to the game, a bad sign no doubt:

It was a scary sight to see and while we don't know the extent of the injury, we do know that Tanev has not returned to the game and fans are hoping for the best, but anticipating the worst.

What a shame too, considering Tanev once again was Toronto's best shutdown defenseman and at a time where their defense is a little shaky, he was the glue that held things together.

The team quickly fell apart too, giving up three goals to the Devils in under two minutes, and the defense looked in shambles; especially on New Jersey's fourth goal:

Caught on a bad line change, there was absolutely nobody to take care of Jack Hughes, who blasted a shot past Stolarz who is not going to pleased after his team's poor showing again.

Plus, you can tell Craig Berube is not having a fun time tonight:

Hopefully whatever Berube barked to the team rang true, but it certainly highlights the importance of Tanev as the defensive lynchpin.

As of now, the team has not indicated what exactly is wrong with Tanev and he will undergo further evaluation post-game, and there's concern about a potential concussion but we won't know for certain until they announce things.

But it's a brutal turn of events for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were looking to take one step forward, and ended up being flung about 10 steps back now.