Leafs Deliver Good and Bad News on Jake McCabe and David Kampf

As the Maple Leafs head into a critical playoff game against their Atlantic Division rivals, Florida on Tuesday night, they will end up either coming away with yet another crucial two points, cracking the 100-point mark in points, and almost solidifying their place atop the division.

They managed to handle things pretty easily against the Blue Jackets, and were able to defeat the Panthers the last time around; a very positive sign indeed. But they were also without Jake McCabe and David Kampf, two key defensive players who might be more important to the team than some realize.

That importance is going to be tested yet again as the two were both seen skating on Monday as it looks like they are making their way back from injury.

However, according to Craig Berube: They aren't going to be playing at all.

It's an unfortunate turn of events for the team, who desperately needs at least McCabe to come back sooner than later, given how vital he is to the back end.

So with them already down a few key pieces, what's a few more? Florida decided to bench basically every good player they had against Detroit and started their backup; a clear sign they are tanking in order to face Toronto.

Why not give Florida a free win instead and play spoiler? Who cares? If Toronto already made the playoffs, just mess with the Panthers at this point, and try to give them a hungry and motivated Tampa Bay who is getting tired of playing second fiddle in the Sunshine State now.

Tampa Bay plays New York on Monday, and Toronto plays Florida on Tuesday; so with a Tampa win and Toronto loss would put the Panthers and Lightning in a tie though Tampa holds the tiebreaker.

Ideally, Toronto would like Ottawa to pick things up and might even be privy to giving their provincial rivals some help too. We all want a Battle of Ontario for the first round, so can the hockey gods make it happen?

But for now, the team has to focus on their task at hand, which is the team nipping at their heels, but maybe for one night, they should let the Panthers take a little nibble and make the playoff race even more interesting.