Maple Leafs' Jake McCabe to play against Rangers, but is concerned about spate of high sticks

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The puffy left eye and red tracers aren’t the first battle scars Jake McCabe has endured in the NHL. 

But as fortunate as he and the Maple Leafs feel as he won’t miss any games after taking a stick jab under his visor on Tuesday in Columbus, there was natural concern on his part at how close he came to serious damage. 

“Certainly panic for a couple of seconds, but I was able to open it up quick and I could still see,” said McCabe, who was back on the Maple Leafs defence Thursday morning before playing the New York Rangers. (Team therapist) Paul Ayotte, our training staff and (the Blue Jackets) doctors took good care of us.” 

McCabe left a trail of blood to the dressing room on Tuesday, but was actually keen on returning to the game, However, by the time the examinations were complete, the Leafs had a four-goal lead and the swelling around the eye was significant.   

What did McCabe have to say about how his injury occurred?

The veteran defenceman seems to get the worst of wounds, be they from sticks, cross-checks, body checks and shot blocks, but thought forward Kent Johnson of the Blue Jackets had been on the reckless side as he tried to barge past McCabe with his blade up. 

”I’ll be honest, I think guys can take better care of their sticks for sure,” said McCabe, a father of three. “It was an accident and I can’t fault that, (but) the general consensus I’m getting, (is that) a couple of high sticks the last three or four games, they’re from younger players. Keep your sticks down.” 

McCabe said Johnson did not try to contact him afterwards to check on his condition, but that Columbus players inquired  after the game and he expects it was passed on to Johnson, who served a double-minor on the play. 

What are Toronto’s other injury concerns?

With his regular blue-line partner, Chris Tanev, out week-to-week with an upper body injury, McCabe was back partnering Darren Raddysh at Thursday’s skate.  Recent call-up Marshall Rifai, meanwhile, departed the skate early and is a game-time decision, which could mean that Nick Blankenburg is back in. 

Coach Jim Hiller said no decision has been reached if Tanev and alternate captain John Tavares will accompany the team to Western Canada on Friday. Tavares is also out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. 

What does this game mean to the Raddysh brothers?

Raddysh was pumped to face younger brother Taylor, a right winger on the Rangers, the first time one of them is playing for their hometown team. Dwayne Raddysh, their father who passed away last March from pancreatic cancer, used to get Leafs tickets back in the day, with the understanding that Taylor would get to see the Devils, his favourite team, and Darren settle for what remained.    

“We’ve talked about this game a long time,” Darren said of Taylor. “The day (of the Toronto-Tampa Bay trade) we looked at each other and said: ‘Is this real’?” 

They were briefly Tampa teammates and in junior together in Erie. Darren says Taylor might have the bragging rights head-to-head through the years, but highlighted his three points and a win the most recent time the Bolts met the Rangers. 

“It would be amazing to play with him again and hopefully we have that opportunity one day,” Darren said. “But he’s on the other team tonight and like (Kirill Marchenko said in his return to Columbus) there are no friends out there.” 

The Rangers, their organization with heavy hearts after the passing of franchise star Ron Duguay following a long fight with cancer, are three points ahead of Toronto. They’ve reversed the script from last year, when they could not win or score at home, to dominance at Madison Square Garden, while losing all but one road game to date. 

They’ll have their hands full with Toronto’s forward corps — Auston Matthews and William Nylander are both among the league’s top 10 scorers — while the Leafs also own the NHL’s best penalty-killing stats to date. 

Lhornby@postmedia.com 

X: @sunhornby