Three Maple Leafs Officially Ruled Out Against the Washington Capitals

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs are slowly getting key players back, with the return of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, they are still missing a good chunk of players that are crucial to their success.

The team will be without a few more though when they face the Washington Capitals on Friday, as Jake McCabe, Max Pacioretty, and Max Domi have been ruled out according to head coach Craig Berube per David Alter on X.

In the case of Pacioretty and Domi, both men have been out since early November dealing with lower-body injuries, and their presence on the ice is a huge step towards their eventual return.

Domi was placed on the IR on Nov. 16 (retroactively) but even before his injury has struggled mightily. Going scoreless so far this season and only recording six assists, he's had the worst stretch of his career, and is riding a brutal 13-game pointless streak.

Pacioretty returned to the ice this season after two years of dealing with serious Achilles issues and was a big part of the reason Toronto found so much success with Matthews out injured. He's scored six points in 13 games and was looking a lot healthier before an unfortunate run-in with Michael Matheson ended that.

McCabe's absence is a bit more recent and stings a lot for Toronto, as his pairing with Chris Tanev has been one of the NHL's best defensive duos so far. McCabe ended up getting struck in the head from a shot by Tampa Bay's Nick Perbix and left the game and did not return.

This season he's been one of Toronto's best players defensively, and his fearlessness in regards to blocking shots, throwing hits and getting into the nitty gritty has led to not only personal success, but made Toronto's revamped defense even deadlier.

Toronto will be in tough against a Washington Capitals team who is without Alex Ovechkin as he deals with a leg injury, although in a bold show of determination the Capitals leader was taking the ice a mere three weeks after his injury that was to keep him out for several weeks.