Maple Leafs Notebook: McCabe’s return, Tavares’s scare, ignoring the boos

TORONTO — When Jake McCabe gets the green light, he’ll once again be slamming the gas pedal.

Yes, the hardnosed defenceman is about to return from a second 10-day absence and a second head injury this season.

But, no, we should not anticipate McCabe altering his rugged approach to the game in wake of getting sidelined by the frightening fall he took after picking a fight with Philadelphia’s Garnet Hathaway.

“I don’t operate like that, personally,” McCabe said Wednesday, meeting with reporters after completing his first full team practice since the “upper body” injury.

“I understand the risks of this game, and they take really good care of us here. So, taking every precaution needed to make sure I’m safe and cleared to go.”

That the Leafs returned defence callup Marshall Rifai to the Marlies gives every indication that McCabe will return to action Thursday versus Sheldon Keefe’s New Jersey Devils and reunite with Chris Tanev on Craig Berube’s preferred shutdown pair.

“We miss him,” Berube said.

“Huge part of our team,” William Nylander added.

That McCabe assures he is feeling good is refreshing news to defence corps that hasn’t fit perfectly, and a penalty kill that has scuffled in his absence.

In the nine games McCabe has missed this season, Toronto is gone 4-5 and has been outscored 27-19.

Be it McCabe’s tough minutes or his candid, vocal leadership, the Maple Leafs aren’t the same without him in the lineup.

Tavares leaves practise early with injury scare

John Tavares’s left leg accidentally got yanked awkwardly from under him when caught by Tanev’s skate in a power-play drill at Wednesday’s practise (see video below), and the star centre left the ice early and in pain.

He was still under evaluation when Berube met with the media, so no immediate update was available.

With the Maple Leafs already prodding the trade market for a centre, they can ill afford to have their No. 2 pivot go down for a significant stretch.

Fingers are crossed until a Tavares update arrives Thursday morning.

“He’s a massive part of this team,” McCabe said. “John’s been about as consistent as you can get throughout his whole tenure here, not even just this year. He’s a steadying presence on the ice and in the dressing room.”

Ear-muffing the boos

A decisive bounce-back against Keefe’s Devils will be necessary to regain the favour of disgruntled locals, who booed the Maple Leafs off Scotiabank Arena ice both Saturday and Tuesday while watching Toronto’s losing skid reach a season-worst three games.

Mitch Marner’s solution is to block out the boos.

“Just try to ignore it,” Marner said. “We’re just trying to do our job out there and go out and put together a full 60.”

Nylander is unbothered: “Doesn’t really matter if they boo. We know we’re a good team.”

A first-place team, in fact.

With one more win than the defending champion Florida Panthers, the Leafs lead a weakened Atlantic Division.

To be sure, though, they haven’t played their best hockey this month. As McCabe rightly notes, even last week’s one-goal wins over rebuilding Flyers weren’t exactly convincing.

“A good test for us to get out of it quickly,” McCabe said. “We’re still in a good spot in the grand scheme of things.”

The players are positioning their current adversity as nothing more than a dip in an 82-game roller coaster, a stretch that can ultimately make them more resilient down the road.

“Good teams find their way out of this,” Nylander said.

“It’s only been three games, so what’s the big deal, really?”

One-Timers: Connor Dewar and Ryan Reaves skated as extras Wednesday. Barring bad news on Tavares, they project as scratches while Pontus Holmberg and Max Pacioretty draw back in…. Berube on Pacioretty, scratched in two of the past three games: “This has been a lot of hockey for him, and I think it’s caught up to him a bit.”… Why does the coach like forward Mitch Marner running point on the power-play? “He’s not afraid to shoot it, and we need shots from the top.”… The Leafs will host their annual outdoor practice on Jan. 27 at Prince of Wales rink in Mimico.

Maple Leafs projected lines Thursday vs. New Jersey Devils:

Knies – Matthews – Marner

Pacioretty – Tavares – Nylander

McMann – Domi – Robertson

Holmberg – Kämpf – Lorentz

Rielly – Myers

McCabe – Tanev

Ekman-Larsson – Timmins

Woll

Hildeby