The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to play with one defenceman short. The team announced that Jake McCabe will not return to the game. The Leafs’ d-man got into a spat with Philadelphia Flyers grinder Garnet Hathaway behind the play. McCabe fell on top of Hathaway as the puck cleared the Maple Leafs zone. Toronto’s blueliner gave Hathaway a few shoves before letting him up and mildly roughed him up once he got to his feet. This was in response to Hathaway’s hit on McCabe earlier in the first period.
Eventually, Hathaway had enough and dropped the gloves, sparking a tilt with McCabe. According to HockeyFights, Hathaway has been in 39 regular-season fights before this one. This means that the Flyers winger is deeply experienced when it comes to dropping the mitts. In the aftermath of the fight, McCabe hit the ice with his head being the primary point of the collision. The 31-year-old was slow to get up and seemed uneasy after hitting the ice. He skated off the ice on his own accord with six seconds remaining in the first frame. While they both received major penalties for fighting, the teams played 4-on-4. McCabe got two minutes for roughing and Hathaway served two minutes for goaltender interference.
McCabe With Another Upper-Body Injury
With McCabe not returning to action, this is his second injury of the season involving his head area. Earlier this season, he missed five games because of catching a puck to the head/neck area against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The D-man played 35 games this season, scoring 11 points. That includes one goal on the campaign that he scored in Toronto’s previous game against the Boston Bruins. Chances are McCabe won’t be back for Toronto’s next game on Tuesday when they see the Flyers again.
However, that opens the door for Conor Timmins to return to the lineup. Lately, he’s lost his role to Philippe Myers, who was recently signed to a two-year extension by the Leafs. Nonetheless, Timmins has had a solid season with the Maple Leafs this year. The 26-year-old has seven points in 34 games with Toronto and plus-six.
