The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the streaking St. Louis Blues handily last night thanks to a hat trick from Bobby McMann and without the likes of Morgan Rielly, John Tavares and Mitch Marner. The absence of the trio forced the Leafs to give more opportunity to others on the roster, including McMann, who was a late addition after skating as a scratch for the last two practices. With the loss of Rielly for five games due to his suspension, the Leafs are counting on Jake McCabe to eat some of his minutes and last night, he did just that.
McCabe played just under 22 minutes and had five hits, while also taking a hit that re-opened the cut on his nose that he sustained last week against the Dallas Stars. It has been a rough week of sorts for McCabe, not in terms of his play, but rather being on the receiving end of a handful of missed calls, which can certainly be frustrating.
With all that has happened the past few days with the Leafs, the officials and the Department of Player Safety, it was a wise way for McCabe to approach the question and one that will keep money in his pocket. Hopefully McCabe playing nice with officials after the game will earn him some brownie points and he will get a call or two over the next few games.
