Troubling Signs for Leafs with Two Key Players Absent from Practice
The Maple Leafs might have a really tough time on Saturday night against Columbus as practice saw the absence of two key players, leaving their status in question.
After Toronto ended up coming away with a hard-fought but necessary 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, and while it clinched them a playoff berth, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows as the team lost two players to injury during the game.
Both David Kampf and Jake McCabe left the game in a worrying sign that the injury bug is hitting the Maple Leafs at the worst possible time. Things grew more concerning on Friday, as both players were absent at practice.
It's a horrible bit of bad luck for the team, as not only do they lose one of their better defensive forwards in Kampf, but the loss of McCabe is huge considering he is part of the team's shutdown duo alongside Chris Tanev.
McCabe And Kampf Out; Robertson And Myers In (Presumably)
With both men out of the lineup, the team will have to look at alternatives if they aren't ready. Nick Robertson will likely slot into Kampf's spot though with Pontus Holmberg or Steven Lorentz anchoring the middle.
Philippe Myers will most likely get the call and while he's certainly capable, it doesn't reach the same elite level production and prevention that McCabe offers.
Toronto Loses Critical Defense At Worst Possible Time
While Toronto will need to be on their heels against Columbus, they are going to need to make sure they can weather any type of storm without their best defender, and it's rough to see such a key player down at a crucial time.
McCabe has really shown how good he can be, and earned himself a big time extension earlier this season. In 66 games, he has 23 points (2G, 21A) with 135 blocks and 118 hits in 21:31 TOI.
He also missed a few games this season with two separate injuries including suffering concussion-like symptoms after taking a puck to the head.
Kampf while not the most offensive player, is certainly a key factor in Toronto's defensive identity and is one of their key penalty killers; something that the team needs to improve on ahead of the playoffs and losing Kampf really derails that.
In 59 games, he has 13 points (5G, 8A), winning over 51% of his face-offs and a minus-1 rating in 12:24 TOI.
We'll have to see how Toronto handles the Blue Jackets without two of their top defensive players as both teams clash on Saturday night.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 4 | 487 ANSWERS Troubling Signs for Leafs with Two Key Players Absent from Practice Do you think Toronto will have Jake McCabe or David Kampf back in the lineup for Saturday night? | ||
| Yes | 169 | 34.7 % |
| No | 318 | 65.3 % |
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