Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe's stat line from Thursday's win over the New Jersey Devils shows just how much the team missed him while he was out.
Jake McCabe had been sidelined for nearly 2 weeks after he was forced out of his contest against the Philadelphia Flyers due to an upper-body injury.
The veteran blueliner had landed awkwardly on the ice after a fight with Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway and was placed on the IR the following day.
In his absence the Maple Leafs had difficulties in beating the Flyers and then endured a 3-game losing streak where they were outscored 13-4 as they headed into their home matchup against the New Jersey Devils last night.
McCabe flourished right off the bat with an incredible stat line on Thursday, as he registered 2 assists, 2 hits, 5 shots, 5 blocked shots, a plus-3 rating, and a game-high 24:16 TOI during their 4-3 overtime victory against the Devils.
The veteran defenseman earned his first assist on Auston Matthews' game tying goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation as well as a secondary helper on William Nylander's overtime winner. His 24:16 TOI was nearly 2 minutes more than anyone on New Jersey's back-end.
McCabe has put up a very quietly underrated campaign for the Maple Leafs this season as he now has 13 points in 37 games, a plus-13 rating, 20:57 ATOI, 73 blocked shots, and 74 hits. He is second on the team in blocked shots and plus-minus, second amongst his defensive peers in hits, and his 12 assists are the 7th most on the team.
His return to the ice was a sight for sore eyes after three tough losses, 2 of which came on home-ice and drew the ire of the fan base.
The Maple Leafs end the month of January with a relatively tough schedule and his presence in the lineup should help against the likes of Montreal, Columbus, and Tampa Bay.
Expect more of the same from their steady top-pair defenseman tomorrow night when the Leafs head out on the road to face a suddenly hot Montreal Canadiens team that has won 8 of their last 10 games.
