There was a grey area on the Maple Leafs’ blueline before Monday’s home game against Chicago.
After some optimism that Jake McCabe would not miss any time after taking a hard puck in the side of the head Saturday in Tampa Bay, he was not in the morning skate, replaced by Philippe Myers, who will play just his second game of the season.
Before the practice, the Leafs moved defenceman Jani Hakanpaa to injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 16, which gave them roster flexibility, though Hakanpaa is eligible for activation at any time. Marshall Rifai was recalled from the Toronto Marlies as an extra.
Any sustained time lost by McCabe would be a tough pill for the Leafs, as one of their best own-zone contributors in this year’s defensive improvement.
“A little precautionary,” is how coach Craig Berube described McCabe’s condition. “Just with the circumstances of it all (McCabe was down for a few moments and missed the third period), it’s the best thing to do for the player. You have to be careful.
“It (creates) a hole, but guys have come in and filled before (up to eight forwards in recent weeks) and that’s what I want to see tonight.”
Hakanpaa has not played since mid-November after finally making his debut following knee issues that limited him at training camp. Now, the $1.47-million US free agent is in limbo, Berube saying he’s on IR to manage the knee again.
Hakanpaa was practising regularly up to the past few days, with Berube urging him to be patient after the Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins pairing proved too effective to break up.
Speaking of staying game-ready, that has been a long story for Myers this season, a healthy scratch since Oct. 26 in Boston.
“You don’t want to see anyone get hurt, but this chance means a lot to me,” said the 6-foot-5 Myers, who did have a brief conditioning stint with the Marlies. “I’ve been patient, trying to be a good teammate, hyping up the boys because they’ve been playing very well (8-3-1 in November).
“I’ve kind of experienced (long stretches in the press box) before and had a good mindset for it this year. I work on a lot of things after practice trying to make it game situation-like as possible.”
He’ll play alongside Morgan Rielly while McCabe’s absence will see Chris Tanev with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who switches back to his natural left side in the shutdown-duo role.
After Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies returned o the lineup Saturday, forwards Max Domi and Max Pacioretty rejoined the team for Monday’s workout from their lower-body injuries.
“Domi is close, he skated well today, he’ll push it more tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at,” Berube said, though he sees Pacioretty being further away.
Anthony Stolarz was in the starter’s net, meaning as much as Berube likes Joseph Woll’s five-game winning streak, he doesn’t want to mess with what has been a productive rotation.
The Leafs hope to get more opportunity to utilize their five-forward power play on Monday, which got Matthews and Knies back on Saturday with Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander, but was limited to one chance.
“All the guys on it have played together quite a while,” Tavares said. “We’ve had success with it in the past. It’s a long season, you just continue to work at it. The player we just added (Matthews) is pretty good, so I like to think it will find a way.”
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