The Toronto Maple Leafs are missing defenseman Jake McCabe, but his return isn’t far away.
The 31-year-old defenseman has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury after going down awkwardly on Jan. 5 in a fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway.
McCabe practiced with the Maple Leafs on Monday, which was promising. However, head coach Craig Berube didn’t give a timeline on his return. Following their 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, though, TSN’s Darren Dreger revealed that the defenseman could be back sooner rather than later.
“Now there is some good news in the near future,” Dreger said on TSN’s post-game show. “I doubt that (McCabe’s) going to play against the Devils on Thursday. More than likely against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. And I think for the coaching staff, they’ll be pretty happy to get him back into the mix.”
McCabe missed five games in December after taking a puck to the head on Nov. 30 from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix. The defenseman returned to the Maple Leafs’ lineup on Dec. 12 against the Anaheim Ducks.
The defenseman’s average ice time — 20:52 through 36 games for Toronto this season — ranks him fourth among Maple Leafs players in that category this season. He’s second on Toronto’s defense with a 53.39 xGF% at five-on-five this season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Although small, Dreger also provided an update on Anthony Stolarz, who’s been out with a knee injury since Dec. 12 against the Ducks. “End of January, first week of Feb,” Dreger said of Stolarz’s reported return date.
Since the 30-year-old goaltender went down with an injury, Toronto has given up 54 goals against, the second-most in the NHL behind the Chicago Blackhawks. The Maple Leafs also have a .901 team save percentage at five-on-five since Dec. 13, the sixth-worst in the league.
Toronto has been mostly strong at both ends of the rink this season. However, they’ve been outscored 13-4 in their last three games, against the Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, and Stars.
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“I think our execution can be better. I mean, we’re going through adversity right now, and as much as we prefer not to go through that, it’s necessary sometimes,” Auston Matthews said after their loss to Dallas.
“And these are the kind of moments where we’ve got to come together even more and stick with each other and work our way out of it. So that’s really all we can do. That’s the mindset going into it. Have a good practice tomorrow, and we’re right back at it.”
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