John Tavares Leaves the Sabres Loss Hurt and Miles Wood Lands on IR, Leaving the Maple Leafs Thin Down the Middle

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost more than a two-goal third-period lead on Thursday night. Captain John Tavares left the 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres early in the third period after colliding with Sabres forward Josh Norris in the Toronto defensive zone, and he did not return. Head coach Jim Hiller offered no update after the game, and the club had not released a diagnosis as of Friday.

The same day, Toronto placed winger Miles Wood on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, according to David Alter of The Hockey News. Wood will miss at least a week. Add Chris Tanev, already on IR with an upper-body injury, and the Leafs are now juggling three absences as they turn around to host the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

What Happened Against Buffalo

Tavares was productive before he went down. He recorded two assists on Thursday and had been one of Toronto's most dependable producers through the first two weeks of the season. The collision with Norris looked awkward, and the ESPN recap noted that he appeared to favor his left leg as he left the ice. Early speculation has centered on the knee and ankle area, but that is not a diagnosis, and fantasy managers should treat any timeline as unknown until the team speaks.

The night should have belonged to Kirill Marchenko. The winger, acquired from Columbus in the preseason trade that sent Matthew Knies the other way, scored a hat trick in his 300th NHL game, his first with Toronto and the fifth of his career. His third goal, set up by Colton Sissons late in the second period, made it 4-2. Buffalo answered with third-period goals from Dennis Gilbert and Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power won it 3:14 into overtime. Marchenko publicly took responsibility for losing track of Power on the winner.

The other storyline was Gavin McKenna. The rookie played just 6:36 and did not see the ice after a shift with 9:40 left in the second period. Hiller took the blame afterward, explaining that a run of penalties kept McKenna glued to the bench and that, after roughly 30 minutes without a shift, he chose not to throw the rookie into a one-goal game. TSN reported that Hiller insisted the benching had nothing to do with McKenna's performance.

Where the Injury Report Stands

Toronto falls to 3-3-2 with the loss. Here is the current picture heading into Saturday.

The Wood move is a depth issue more than a fantasy one. He was recalled from the AHL Marlies on Oct. 9 as Toronto searched for the right fourth-line mix, and he had not carried a meaningful scoring role. The Tavares situation is the one that reshapes the lineup.

The Lineup Fallout Without Tavares

Toronto has already had a dress rehearsal. When Tavares missed the Oct. 10 game in Colorado for the birth of his fourth child, Nick Paul centered the second line and Hiller rolled 11 forwards, a look he said intrigued him. Toronto won that game 6-3. If Tavares is unavailable Saturday, expect Paul back in the second-line center role alongside William Nylander and Easton Cowan, with Sissons anchoring the bottom six.

The bigger fantasy question is the power play. When Tavares rejoined the team last week, he slid back onto the top unit alongside Auston Matthews, Nylander, Marchenko and Darren Raddysh, with McKenna running with the second group. A Tavares absence opens a net-front and bumper spot on PP1. The two most logical candidates are Cowan, who has worked with Nylander at even strength, and McKenna, the club's most dynamic second-unit option. Thursday's usage suggests Hiller is not ready to hand the rookie a featured role in tight games, which tilts the early odds toward a veteran or Cowan.

For fantasy managers:

Kirill Marchenko stays a must-start. He is on Matthews' line and the top power play, and a Tavares absence only concentrates more PP1 touches on the remaining four.

Easton Cowan is the speculative add in deeper leagues. A promotion to PP1 would turn a middle-six winger into a weekly streamer, but wait for Saturday's morning skate lines before spending a claim.

Gavin McKenna is a hold, not a drop. The ice time was jarring, but Hiller framed it as game management rather than a demotion, and a top-unit opening is exactly what a teenager with his skill set needs.

Nick Paul gains short-term value in leagues that reward hits, blocks and faceoffs if he moves up to center Nylander.

The Betting and DFS Angle

Saturday's home date with the Islanders (7 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena) is a rematch of Toronto's 2-1 win on Sept. 30, when Cowan and Nylander were the key contributors. Without Tavares, Toronto's center depth behind Matthews thins considerably, and that matters most in matchup-heavy spots against a structured Islanders team. Bettors should wait for confirmation of Tavares' status before the line settles, because a late scratch is the kind of news that moves totals and team-goal props.

In DFS, a Tavares absence makes the Matthews-Marchenko stack slightly more attractive on a per-dollar basis, because PP1 production becomes less diluted. Pairing either with Raddysh, the top-unit quarterback, captures most of Toronto's power-play upside in one stack. Verdexed's full model card for every game lives at /nhl/predictions, and the day's picks are collected at /blog/nhl-picks-2026-10-16.

What's Next

The Leafs will practice Friday, and that session is the first real checkpoint. If Tavares is absent or skates in a non-contact jersey, plan for him to miss Saturday at minimum. If he is placed on injured reserve, Toronto will need a corresponding recall from the Marlies, and that player is unlikely to carry fantasy value.

Watch three things at Saturday's morning skate: who centers Nylander, who takes the open spot on PP1, and whether McKenna's ice time rebounds. Those answers determine whether Cowan or McKenna becomes this week's waiver add, or whether Toronto simply leans harder on Matthews and Marchenko until its captain returns.