Arun Srinivasan

@Arunthings

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Craig Berube says Jake McCabe suffered an upper-body injury but can’t provide further update beyond that. “It’s concerning, for sure. Like I said, I don’t like seeing it.”

3:05 AM · Jan 6, 2025

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Toronto Maple Leafs

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Some people wait a lifetime for a MOment like this

3:24 AM · Jan 6, 2025

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Here are six takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 overtime win against the Flyers

• Jake McCabe’s upper-body injury dulled some of the excitement surrounding a thrilling overtime victory over the Flyers. McCabe has formed one of the best defensive partnerships in the NHL alongside Chris Tanev and was having a stellar game prior to the injury. He previously missed five games after taking a puck to the neck area on November 30 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Berube appeared to be concerned about the long-term outlook, but did not provide a further update. McCabe was able to skate off under his own power, which provided some temporary relief. It would be a crushing loss for the Maple Leafs if McCabe missed any time at all, with Berube putting a particular emphasis on rush defence as a focal point for the second half of the year.
• Matthew Knies remains on fire after scoring his 1st NHL hat-trick on Saturday. Knies drifted off Auston Matthews’ gravity throughout the contest, but he was stellar in his own right. The 22-year-old picked off an errant drop pass from Ryan Poehling in the first period, then drove to the net, as Chris Tanev fired a shot towards the goal, Matthews tipped the puck on net, and Knies cleaned up the rebound for his 15th goal of the season — tying his mark from last year, in 41 fewer games. At the outset of training camp, Knies was afforded the first look with Matthews and Mitch Marner, but he needed to produce. He had an excellent start to the season where he used his power game extremely well, his production tailed off after returning to the lineup from an injury suffered on November 20 against the Vegas Golden Knights, and he’s regained his top form alongside his superstar linemates. Knies downplayed the spectacle of a superlative weekend, but he’s back bullying opponents, creating a ton of chances, while delivering four hits. This is the type of weekend that highlights why Knies is imperative to the Leafs’ Stanley Cup chances.
• Dennis Hildeby allowed an awful first goal, but he responded with an excellent performance throughout the game. Hildeby was beat cleanly off the rush by Tyson Foerster — although you could object to Morgan Rielly giving the Flyers way too much space to walk into the zone. Hildeby bounced back, he made a series of excellent stops later in the first period on Foerster, he remained calm and composed in a 30-stop performance, and he made an excellent blocker save in overtime, before Rielly walked it off. Toronto needs Hildeby to spell Joseph Woll throughout January until Anthony Stolarz returns to action, and it was a clutch response. “I think I had a rough start there with the first goal, could’ve done better but progressed throughout the game for sure,” Hildeby said post-game. Berube and Ekman-Larsson were both highly complimentary of Hildeby, and he may be in line to start again on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.
• It was a strange night for Rielly overall — he won the team belt for his overtime winner, and actual goals matter than any other individual events. Prior to the goal, you could make a strong argument that Rielly and William Nylander were Toronto’s least impactful players Sunday. He was on the ice for both Flyers’ goals, where he was culpable on both of them, and the Flyers outshot the Maple Leafs 13-6 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, and with an emphasis on improved rush defence, Rielly allowed too many easy chances. But this is all academic, and Rielly’s overtime snipe was expertly placed — with a terrific feed from Matthews. Rielly and Ekman-Larsson scored as well, and both Rielly and McCabe said Toronto’s defencemen aren’t discussing the goal production from the blue line, so we can put this idea to rest.
• Simon Benoit and Max Pacioretty upped their physicality throughout the contest, to mixed results. Benoit threw a number of crushing hits, and his play improved when he was paired with Chris Tanev — who was far and away the Maple Leafs’ best defender on Sunday, and he’s been Toronto’s best blue liner throughout the first half as well. Benoit threw some crushing hits, but he also threw a suicide pass through the goalmouth that Flyers defenceman Nick Seeler couldn’t bury. It’ll be compelling to see how Benoit adjusts if he’s paired with Tanev, a no-nonsense defender, who is the NHL’s best shot blocker and a premier defensive stalwart. Pacioretty, for his part, threw several crushing hits throughout the contest, which opened up some offence for Tavares and Nylander — who was otherwise underwhelming. The 36-year-old forward spoke about the benefits of the Leafs’ imperfect first half, with plenty of room to improve during Sunday morning’s media availability, and the fact that the Leafs are finding ways to win games in numerous ways, while closing out opponents in one-goal scenarios, provides the team with a strong second-half prognosis.
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson is coming off a championship with the Florida Panthers and is confident that he could win a second consecutive ring. Ekman-Larsson scored his second goal of the season, following up on some strong work from Steven Lorentz and David Kampf, and believes the Leafs could win it all. “I think it’s been some really good things, and some stuff we have to work on and clean up in our game, but overall, we’re finding ways to win hockey games. What I like the most is that we’re finding ways to win in different ways. I think that’s what good teams to do, they find ways to win hockey games. You’re not always going to have your A-game. Sometimes, the power play has to step up, sometimes the PK has to step up, and 5-on-5, I feel like we’re winning hockey games in different ways and I like that about our group.”

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