The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Monday.

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John Tavares revealed that the league's concussion spotter pulled him from Saturday's game in Ottawa after he was hit by Senators defenceman Artem Zub early in overtime.

The Leafs centre was skating into the slot looking for a pass when Zub's right forearm hit him up high.

"I don’t think I really need to explain it," Tavares said when asked for his perspective on the sequence. "Pretty obvious what happened on the play. Puck’s nowhere near me. But just move on from it. Go out there and keep competing and trust that the refs are going to make the right calls."

There was no call on Zub on Saturday night.

"I don't like the hit," coach Craig Berube said. "Puck's nowhere near him. Looked like a headshot to me."

"That’s a tough one," said winger Mitch Marner. "You’re interested to see why nothing gets called on that, but that’s sometimes how the plays go and luckily enough Johnny’s fine and ready to go, so that’s all that matters."

Tavares, who scored in the first period, missed more than 10 minutes of game time, including a four-minute power play. He eventually returned to the action and was on the ice when Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson scored to force Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Tavares participated fully in Monday's practice and was even out early for extra work with player development staffer Patrick O'Sullivan.

"A little bit of soreness just in my jaw and cheek area, but felt good," the 34-year-old said. "Felt good on the ice today."

With three goals in the series, Tavares is tied for the team lead. He's also chipped in two assists.

"He's been playing some very good hockey for us as the series has gone on and even before that," Marner said. "When Johnny's at his best, he's a hard man to stop."

Even though Tavares ended up being cleared, the Leafs did not question how the concussion spotter handled things on Saturday.

"You have to make sure the guys are okay," said Berube.........

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