Unfortunate Play in Tampa: Maple Leafs Defenseman Struck with Puck in Neck, Play Halted Immediately

During the second period of the Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, McCabe was in the direction of an attempted shot from the Lightning's Nick Perbix. The shot hit towards McCabe, appearing to strike him in the neck or in around the head area.

McCabe was able to leave to the locker room under his own ability, but did not return. The Leafs officially ruled McCabe out of the game with what the team is calling an upper-body injury, the team announced.

The Leafs did not provide a status at this time of McCabe's condition, but given him being struck in the neck by a puck, it is a positive bit of news that implies his injury is not too serious, although it's still unknown how long he will be out for.

It would be a massive blow to Toronto's defense to lose McCabe, as he was part of the team's elite shutdown defensive pairing alongside Chris Tanev.

McCabe is just another potential injury for the Leafs roster who just recently got captain Auston Matthews back from the IR after missing nine games with an upper-body injury, and also had another player returning to tonight's game vs the Lightning; Matthew Knies.

Toronto still has multiple regular players out of their lineup including Max Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, Calle Jarnkrok, Max Domi, and David Kampf; all forwards. While the defensive core has largely stayed healthy this season, this is the first potential big injury for the Leafs on their blueline so far.

Despite these injuries, the Leafs still hold a winning record with a 13-7-2 record, good for second in the Atlantic Division with 28 points, three points back of first, held by the Florida Panthers, although the Leafs have three additional games on hand compared to Florida.

The Leafs are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games, even without Matthews being in the lineup among the multiple losses to the team.

Defensively, McCabe has been one of the team's strongest assets, being a positive shutdown defenseman with good intelligence in his own end, which has been his focus throughout his NHL career.

In closing, it's a scary injury for Jake McCabe and Toronto can only hope that he avoided serious injury and avoid another player on the shelf for an unknown amount of time.