When defenceman Jake McCabe went down to an upper-body injury two weeks ago, you felt the loss of his presence on the Maple Leafs' blueline in a meaningful way, with the team losing three straight games.

Maple Leafs D Jake McCabe has been placed on IR (retroactive to January 5). D Marshall Rifai has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). It appeared that McCabe's head made contact with the ice. As he attempted to get on his knees, he fell backwards and needed help from fellow defenseman Morgan Rielly.

The Maple Leafs will be without defenseman Jake McCabe after he was hurt in Sunday's overtime win over the Flyers.

With McCabe out with an injury until at least Jan. 14, the upcoming slate for the Leafs could test their mettle as a contender.

Jake McCabe participated in practice with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday but didn't stay out there long. The 31-year-old suffered an upper-body injury on Jan. 5 after falling to the ice awkwardly in his fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe's stat line from Thursday's win over the New Jersey Devils shows just how much the team missed him while he was out.

Jake McCabe confirmed that he plans to play against the New Jersey Devils after missing the last four games with an upper-body injury.

McCabe took part in his first full practice since he was injured in a fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway.

Although small, Dreger also provided an update on Anthony Stolarz, who's been out with a knee injury since Dec. 12 against the Ducks. "End of January, first week of Feb," Dreger said of Stolarz's reported return date.

We’re into the second half of the 2024-25 season and time flies by when you’re having fun, but this is the time of year that often separates the contenders from the pretenders, in the lead-up to the playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' decision to demote defenseman Morgan Rielly has led to even better results than anyone could have imagined. Heading into Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens, it was already becoming pretty clear that Morgan Rielly was no longer the Maple Leafs' top defenseman.

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in a matchup within the Atlantic Division Monday. Toronto is 29-16-2 overall with a 10-4-1 record against the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have gone 12-5-1 in games they convert at least one power play.