Tavares discharged from hospital, ruled out indefinitely with concussion

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was discharged from the hospital Friday morning after spending the night being examined and assessed by a neurosurgical team.

Tavares is back home under the care and supervision of team physicians, and he's out indefinitely after taking an inadvertent knee to the head from Corey Perry during the first period of Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Tavares suffered a concussion during the collision, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Tavares released the following statement Friday afternoon:

The club previously released this statement updating the captain's status Friday morning:

Auston Matthews said Friday that Tavares sent a group text to the team Thursday night to tell them he was doing better, according to Friedman.

Tavares was transported to the hospital after the incident and spent the night there. All tests came back "clear," per Friedman.

Perry, a former teammate of Tavares' on several national Canadian teams, explained postgame what happened on the play.

"I tried to jump over him and, unfortunately, I caught my knee on his head. I don't know what else to do there," Perry said, according to The Athletic's Arpon Basu. "I know Johnny pretty well. I hope he's OK."

"I honestly felt sick to my stomach when I saw it, and when I saw (Tavares)," Perry added.

Montreal went on to beat Toronto 2-1.