The Maple Leafs’ night against the Columbus Blue Jackets took an ugly turn in the first period when Jake McCabe was forced out after a freak stick to the face.
McCabe was in on a check against Blue Jackets winger Kent Johnson near the boards when the accidental high stick caught him in the face. He left the game in the second half of the opening period and did not return.
He also was not on the bench to start the second period, and the Leafs later confirmed he would not re-enter the game.
The sequence looked entirely accidental. Johnson had his stick up and out in front of him as he tried to avoid the hit, and the blade ended up jabbing McCabe in the face. It was not clear whether the contact got him in the eye, broke his nose, or simply opened up a cut on his forehead, but the result was the same: McCabe had to exit.
Head coach Jim Hiller was expected to have an update after the game, along with more detail on what exactly happened. Given that Toronto was already working with a multi-goal lead at the time, there’s also the possibility the team leaned conservative and kept McCabe out for precautionary reasons rather than forcing him back.
Still, if McCabe is out for any extended stretch, that would be a major problem for Toronto. The Leafs are already without Chris Tanev, and the blue line has struggled without his steady veteran presence. Losing McCabe too would leave them even thinner on the back end.
Darren Raddysh has looked good, but the rest of the group - Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Troy Stecher, Nick Blankenburg, and whichever recent Marlies call-up is on the roster - has not been enough to give the Leafs a dependable defensive foundation. If McCabe and Tanev are both unavailable, Toronto could be down to its two best defensemen.
For now, the hope is that the injury is nothing more than a couple stitches.
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