McCabe injury creates 'heart-and-soul' hole in Leafs lineup

The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Friday. 

---

Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe will miss Saturday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to an undisclosed injury. 

"Right now I'd say day-to-day," responded coach Craig Berube when asked about the timeline for McCabe's return. "I can't really comment on that too much, about how long it's going to be."

The team hasn't specified what the injury is or even when it happened. 

"I'm not sure when it happened, to be honest with you," Berube said. "I really don't know."

Notably, McCabe was hit into the boards by Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe during his final shift on Wednesday night.

McCabe has missed time with a pair of head-related injuries this season. The Leafs have struggled without him going 4-5-0. 

"He brings a lot," Berube acknowledged. "It's hard to sit here and say, 'Oh, we can replace him.' It's pretty tough."

McCabe is averaging 21 minutes and 31 seconds of ice time per game, which leads the team. And those are hard minutes. The 31-year-old faces top lines every night and is also a key contributor on the penalty kill. 

"Guys don't want to go up against him," winger Bobby McMann told TSN. "It makes it hard for top lines to be out there, because he's winning battles, taking pucks from them, and finishing hard. That wears teams down. It's always helpful for us when those guys get frustrated. It throws them off their game."

McCabe has landed 118 hits this season, which is behind only Simon Benoit among Leafs defencemen. With 135 blocks, he ranks behind only defence partner Chris Tanev on the team. McCabe has also chipped in 23 points with all but one coming at even strength. 

"A heart and soul type of player," said centre John Tavares. "He just brings that type of emotion and passion that guys feed off of and is really important for any hockey team, but certainly for us here."

---

Oliver Ekman-Larsson will take McCabe's spot beside Tanev for Saturday's game. Berube likes how the 33-year-old has responded when asked to play more this season. 

"He's very good at that," the coach noted. "He can jump from playing the right side back to the left side, different pairs, I mean, he's done it all year and I don't think it bothers him or effects his game, to be honest with you."

Ekman-Larsson, a lefty, has lined up on the right side most of the season. 

"I'm ready for whatever," he said. "It's something I'm used to early on in my career, playing those top minutes and, yeah, I'm ready for whatever, like I said. But I've also been playing on the right side a lot this year so I feel like it's different and you have to adapt a little bit."

With 25 even-strength points, Ekman-Larsson leads all Leafs blueliners this season. He is averaging 20 minutes and 58 seconds of ice time per game. 

Philippe Myers will draw in on the third pair beside Benoit. He has not played since March 10. 

"Miesy is simple, plays aggressively, is big, and kills play," Berube said. "He is physical back there. So, make the simple play with the puck, be good at your net front, and penalty kill. That's really his role. He has done a good job for us when he has played and when he had to be in there."

---

Toronto's defence will be tested by the Jackets, who have outscored the Leafs 11-3 in a pair of games this season. 

"They got a lot of talent," said Berube. "Some big guys with talent. And [Zach] Werenski is one of the top D in the league at transporting the puck, skating the puck, getting involved offensively in the play. He's very good. We have to do a better job of defending and checking this team, because they can put the puck in the net."

The Jackets are scoring 3.23 goals per game, which ranks 10th overall. Werenski is second in scoring by defencemen this season with 74 points in 73 games.

Third-string goalie Dennis Hildeby started both Leafs games against the Jackets this season. Anthony Stolarz was the first goalie off the ice at Friday's practice, which is often a good indicator of who will start the next day. 

Columbus is coming off a 7-3 home loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. The Jackets have fallen four points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

"Playing a very desperate team tomorrow," Tavares warned. "Very offensive, very dynamic, and we know we've got to make sure we're ready to play. There's still, even though we're down to the last few games here, a lot up for grabs and it's important to keep our game trending the right way and getting the results we want."
   
The Leafs, who have won three straight games, lead the Tampa Bay Lightning by three points and the Florida Panthers by four points in the race for first place in the Atlantic Division. 

---

One defence pair will not be impacted by the McCabe injury: Morgan Rielly with Brandon Carlo. That duo has been together since Carlo was acquired at the trade deadline on March 7. 

"I feel like Carlo's a lot more comfortable and understanding his partner a little bit more," Berube said. "He's like a vacuum back there around our net, just eating things up, and stick details and size."

Carlo leads the Leafs with 17 blocked shots in 13 games since the trade. 

The Leafs believe Carlo's steady presence will open up more offensive opportunities for Rielly. 

"It frees him up a little bit to do his thing," Berube noted. "He knows that Brando, he stays home. He's a stay-home D-man. So, I think it frees him up a little bit, Mo, and gets him jumping a little bit more and gets him on his toes a little bit more."

Although the presence of Carlo hasn't translated into more production for Rielly yet. He has just one even-strength assist in the 13 games with his new partner. 

---

Tavares scored again on Wednesday and is tied for the NHL goals lead since the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

"He's been on fire," said linemate William Nylander. "Getting to the net and scoring some really nice goals. I mean, just a complete goal scorer."

Tavares has scored 15 times in the last 20 games, which is tied with Dallas Stars centre Wyatt Johnston for the most goals since the league's mid-February break. Eleven of the goals have come at even strength, which is tied with New York Ranger winger Artemi Panarin for tops in this stretch. 

Did being omitted from Team Canada's 4 Nations roster fire him up?

"The motivation never changes," Tavares stressed. "I think, obviously, I would have loved to have been there, but it is what it is. I got to spend some extra time with my family, which I really enjoyed."

So, did the time off help? 

"I had a really difficult travel [experience] coming back with that ice storm weekend and, you know, the unfortunate incident with the plane on its landing."

Tavares' return from vacation on Feb. 17 was delayed when a Delta Air Lines flight crash landed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, which resulted in 21 injuries.

"It wasn't quite the recovery [time] coming home I was hoping for," Tavares said with a smile. "But, regardless, you got nine or 10 days off, whatever it was, so kind of lay low and rest up. Obviously get away from it mentally a little bit and do what you need to do to stay sharp and take care of yourself physically."

Tavares is meticulous when it comes to his preparation. He is determined to get the most out of every day. Per usual, he did extra work with skating consultant Paul Matheson before practice. He then stayed out late after practice to work with player development staffer Patrick O'Sullivan. 

"I felt really good, I think, about my game all year, the habits that I built and the consistency I'm trying to play with and the type of process that I have to help contribute to the team on a nightly basis," he said. "Just really boring, but one day at a time." 

Even after helping to collect the pucks on Friday, Tavares continued to make little plays and work on different things. 

Tavares was the last Leaf on the ice. 

"He just embraces it and knows if it's not going to pay dividends right away then it will eventually," McMann said. "He's always playing the long game and trusting the work will pay off. He's just always working on his game which is cool to see from one of the best in the world."

---

Berube said working with Tavares "is almost like having another coach around." On Friday, the veteran bench boss expanded on that idea.

"He looks at what's going on with the team, players, around the room, just a little bit of everything, you know," Berube said. "He's pretty dialed in with all that, the feel of things, so he's always a good guy to talk to about stuff and what he's feeling and what he's thinking and what he's seeing." 

"I like to think that I've gained a good amount of experience and knowledge playing in the league and about myself," Tavares said. 

The 34-year-old has never been the fastest skater, but always seems to find a way to get to where he needs to be to be successful. 

"He's a smart player," said Ekman-Larsson. "As a teammate you know where he's going to be. He reads the game very well."

"He's super smart out there," agreed Nylander. "Always finds the right areas on the ice. I just love the way he thinks the game."

Tavares seems to have the mind for it, but has he ever actually thought about coaching? 

"No, I definitely haven't thought about that," he said. "I want to keep playing. You guys have seen my two young boys, so whatever happens, it'd certainly be a lot of fun to be around them and be a part of that if they continue on playing or wherever it takes them."

Tavares recently had his sons – five-year-old Jace and four-year-old Axton – out on the ice after a rare practice at Scotiabank Arena. 

Berube compared being a coach to being a parent. 

"When you're a coach, you've got to worry about everything," the 59-year-old said. "You've got to worry about every player, the team, you know, there's a lot more. You're here a lot and you're working and doing things. It's like nonstop. A lot of thinking when you're a coach. There's a lot of things going through your mind. And, again, you've got to take care of a lot of stuff. It's probably worse than having kids."

Berube smiled before continuing. 

"You have two or three kids," he said. "But you've got to worry about 23 [on a hockey team]. And then, you know, trainers. There's a lot of stuff. But, you know, it's rewarding. And I'd never look back and say, 'Well, I shouldn't have did that.' I mean, I love it."

---

Tavares watches a lot of hockey and will likely be tuning in to the Washington Capitals game on Friday as Alex Ovechkin chases the all-time goals record. He's two back of Wayne Gretzky with the Chicago Blackhawks visiting Capital One Arena. 

"I thought about that," Tavares said of his evening plans. "I saw who was playing today and whatnot, and obviously he's right there. It's pretty remarkable that we're going to see something that's hard to fathom ... I wouldn't be surprised if many guys around the league tune in to see it and maybe see it live."

"It's awesome," said Nylander. "It's just incredible. I don't think anybody thought that would happen and now he's there and it's probably going to happen very soon. It's just incredible to be able to see it happen." 

So, will Nylander be watching on Friday? 

"Maybe," the 28-year-old said unconvincingly. "We'll see."

Nylander spent time around Ovechkin when his dad played for the Capitals from 2007 to 2009. And, like Tavares with his kids, the elder Nylander would bring his boys, William and Alex, onto the ice after Capitals practices. And every so often Ovechkin also stayed out to have some fun.

"He took our sticks and hid them," Nylander recalled with a smile. "Small memories like that when we were kids. We were practising on the ice after, he took our sticks and put them above the penalty box area, like where the camera was, but he just put them up so we couldn’t reach them or whatever. It's good. It's fun."

---

Fourth-line centre David Kampf left Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury and has also been ruled out of Saturday's game. 

Pontus Holmberg will move over to the middle on the fourth line. Nick Robertson, who has sat out the last three games as a healthy scratch, will draw in on the wing and also play on the second power-play unit. 

---

Lines at Friday's practice: 

Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Tavares - Nylander
Laughton - Domi - Jarnkrok
Lorentz - Holmberg - Robertson
Pacioretty

Ekman-Larsson - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Myers
Hakanpää

Stolarz 
Woll

Power play units at Friday's practice: 

QB: Marner
Flanks: Matthews, Marner
Middle: Tavares
Net front: Knies

QB: Rielly
Flanks: Ekman-Larsson, Domi
Middle: Robertson
Net front: McMann