Toronto Maple Leafs announced Thursday that captain John Tavares will be out at least two weeks with a broken finger.
Tavares suffered the injury in Wednesday’s 4-3 road loss to the Washington Capitals after taking a shot off the hand from fellow teammate Morgan Rielly. Tavares stayed in the game and would go on to score late in the contest.
The Oakville, Ont., native has three goals and four assists in eight games so far this season after registering a career-high 47 goals and 88 points in 2018-19.
Tavares joins Zach Hyman (knee) and Travis Dermott (shoulder) on the injured list for the club.
The Maple Leafs (4-3-1) did not practice Thursday following back-to-back games and will return to action Saturday at home against the Boston Bruins.
Alex Kerfoot, who currently centres the Leafs’ third line, could move up to fill the void left by the 29-year-old centre.
Kerfoot was traded to Toronto on July 1, along with defenceman Tyson Barrie and a 2020 sixth-round pick for centre Nazem Kadri, defenceman Calle Rosen and a third-round pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft.
The 25-year-old has two goals and two assists in eight games this season and has registered 89 points, including 36 goals in 165 games in his NHL career.