The Maple Leafs will be getting one of their most dependable defencemen back for Thursday night’s home tilt against the Anaheim Ducks, with head coach Craig Berube confirming at morning skate that Jake McCabe will be returning to the lineup.

McCabe, 31, has been out of the lineup since November 30 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after blocking a shot with his head in the area of his right ear. Berube was happy to say he’s officially good to go and cited how important the shutdown pair of McCabe and Chris Tanev is.

“Great to have him back,” Berube told reporters after Thursday’s morning skate. “I think they think alike, they’re on the same page. They’re similar players in how they play the game and how they think the game, and I think that’s a big part of it [their success].”

While the Maple Leafs have managed to keep the train on the tracks without their reliable veteran, putting together a record of 3-2-0, getting him back will give them a huge boost as the team continues to get healthy. Max Domi and Max Pacioretty have both returned to the lineup after missing most of if not all of November and while the defensive corps has mostly remained at full health to start the season, McCabe is one of the biggest pieces you could take out of the equation, so getting him back will be an improvement no matter how you slice it.

McCabe is excited to get back into the lineup against the Ducks after missing the last five games but says that the team needs to play with the mindset of bouncing back, even if they came away with the win last game.

“We snuck a couple of points out of New Jersey, and, you know, we definitely didn’t have it that night, but we found a way to get two points and we’re looking for almost a bounce-back effort tonight even though we won,” McCabe told the media scrum. “We want a much better effort.”

While it was initially thought that McCabe wouldn’t miss any time, he hadn’t felt well enough to play until today, according to Berube.

“Listen, it’s just how he feels. So, hopefully, he’s feeling better. This guy is a warrior; he’ll play if he can. So I’m hoping he’ll be back.” Berube said before the Maple Leafs’ game against the Nashville Predators on December 3. It rings true for the defenceman, who signed a five-year extension to stay with the Maple Leafs in October. McCabe is easily the team’s most physical defenceman and has logged more ice time on the penalty kill than anyone not named Chris Tanev.

McCabe will be skating on a pair with the aforementioned Tanev and will assume his defensive zone start-centred role, giving the team a much-needed boost as they try to build off of Tuesday’s win in New Jersey.

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