John Tavares is out of the playoffs indefinitely with a concussion.

The Maple Leafs captain took a pass from Jake Muzzin, a hit from Ben Chiarot and a knee to the head from Corey Perry in the first period of Thursday nights Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens. He lay motionless on the ice after the game-changing perhaps life-altering play that lasted no more than a few seconds.

It looked like a very high-impact blow, so if you do the math the acceleration of his head and brain inside his head is at a pretty high velocity. Thats what causes concussion, said Dr. Charles Tator, Canadas leading expert on concussions. The good news is, it sounds like it was no more than a concussion. Thats good news, that they announced the tests were negative. Im assuming that means they did either a CAT scan or MRI to eliminate the possibility of cranial bleeding. Thats important.

Tavares has been released from hospital and is recovering at home. Tator did not treat Tavares, but the two are friends. Tavares once helped Tator with an instructional video for young hockey players on how to prevent concussions. Tavaress advice: Never hit from behind.

But thats not what happened here. This was every bit a hockey play.

Heres the anatomy of the hit.

9:39: With nine minutes and 39 seconds remaining in the first period, Muzzin gets control of the puck behind his net. No one is pressuring him, though Perry is on his way. Muzzin sees Tavares and an easy outlet pass to clear the zone and go on the attack. Chiarot stays close to Tavares, guessing correctly thats where the puck is going.

9:38: Muzzin launches a pass from the corner to Tavares at the blue line. Perry was on his way toward Muzzin, but circles to his right at the faceoff circle, following the trajectory of the pass. Hes picking up speed.

9:37: The puck is on Tavaress stick, but only for a split second. The idea is to tip it forward to a teammate. Nick Foligno and William Nylander are in the vicinity, but the puck never makes it. Chiarot times his hit to disrupt the pass. Its a clean, full-body, heavy hit, albeit at an awkward angle. Montreal players have been targeting Leafs stars all night, and this is no different.

9:36: Tavares falls to his right and tumbles toward the blue line. He bounces and rolls, but keeps his head from hitting the ice.

9:35: Tavares has rolled over so that his face is toward Perry, who is a mere stride away. Perry had been building to full speed, but seems aware enough that both Chiarot and Tavares are in his path that he slows down a bit, and raises his left leg just a little in an apparent attempt to go over Tavares. But the bended knee hits Tavares squarely in the face.

At the 9:31 mark, the whistle is blown. The referees often let play continue until the team of a downed player gets control of the puck. In this case Montreal had the puck, but the referees saw Tavares in distress. The training and medical staff from both teams came to his aid.

Paul Ayotte, the Leafs head trainer, is the first to arrive, holding the players head still as he tries to readjust Tavares from an awkward position. Almost immediately, he calls for a stretcher. Paramedics are quick to the scene. Torontos medical director Dr. Noah Forman and Montreals Dr. David Mulder are escorted to the ice by players.

The Canadiens mostly retreat to their bench. Most Leafs were around the scene but at a respectful distance. Jason Spezza, however, was right in there with the medical folks, talking to Tavares.

I was just trying to keep him calm, said Spezza. Scary moment. He wasnt really responding to much that was going on, so I was just trying to keep him calm. I talked to him when I got home and he said that he picked up my voice and recognized it, so I think thats why I just tried to keep talking him through it.

The villain in all of this is Perry, who has played that role his entire career. His reputation precedes him as a player who walks the line between clean and dirty hits. Fans on some teams would convict him on sight, but theres leeway on this play.

Even Foligno who fought Perry as payback on the ensuing faceoff to fulfil the NHLs unwritten code of justice didnt think the hit was intentional.

Only Perry knows what his true intent was in the moment, though it happened so quickly its hard to imagine intent could even be formed. Perry looked aghast at what had transpired. He and Tavares are, after all, friends off the ice.

When the stretcher carrying Tavares started to roll off the ice, Perry skated over to give Tavares a pat on the stomach, wishing him well.

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I felt sick to my stomach when I saw it and saw the way he was. Its a scary situation, said Perry. He got hit, I was coming out of the zone, I was trying to jump over him, and unfortunately I caught my knee on his head. I dont know what else to do there. I tried to jump. Its an unfortunate incident.

I know Johnny pretty well. Just hope hes OK.

Before the stretcher is off the ice, Tavares is able to raise his hand and give a thumbs up, a message to his teammates plus family and friends watching on TV that hes all right.

Tavares also called and texted teammates from St. Michaels Hospital, where he stayed overnight, to make sure they knew their captain was fine.

Johns a good friend (and) everybody was very concerned, said Spezza. Were happy to know that everythings looking on the ups, but definitely it was a moment where your mind races a little bit. You think about his family. But just seeing your buddy on the ice like that is scary moment.

The issue is the health of the brain. Protected by the cranium and, in a hockey players case, a helmet its still prone to violent jolts.

The best way to think of it is, the consistency of the brain is like Jell-O, said Tator. What happens is, its the jiggle of the brain that causes a concussion. With all the billions of nerve cells, and an even greater number of fibres that come off the nerve cells, those get jiggled.

And now they have to reset.

Unlike a broken bone, where healing can be monitored with X-rays, or a heart attack, where the severity can be measured by a blood test, there is no medical measurement for a concussions severity or the patients recovery, said Tator.

We only have the symptoms to go by, said Tator, how John feels if he has headaches, dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound. There are about 80 symptoms. We have to assess the symptoms to know whether hes recovering, and to what extent recovery is happening.

The good news is, recovery usually happens. Thats why we have to keep players out of action for a period of time to let the brain recover. If they go back too fast, and they get another blow before they fully recover, the damage is multiplied.

We like people to wait out at least a week, but some people could take even a year to recover. He shouldnt go back until hes completely recovered, which means all the symptoms would have gone before he should play. He can start skating, but he should not be in game play until all the symptoms have gone away.

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Anatomy of the hit that knocked out Maple Leafs captain John Tavares and the aftermath - Toronto Star