MONTREAL (Dec. 16) -- If you have followed the Toronto Maple Leafs over the years, you almost had to know that things were going a bit too smoothly for the hockey club in recent weeks. Not only had the Leafs compiled an impressive 6-1-1 record in their eight games prior to last night's match here in Montreal, but the injury bug had all but eluded the NHL's most banged-up team from a year ago. Though the Leafs may have been playing slightly over their heads, it was no coincidence that their best stretch of the season occurred with virtually a full line-up. Only Carlo Colaiacovo, who hasn't played a minute in 2007-08, was absent among those expected to be on the roster.
Lo and behold, a more typical Leaf circumstance unfolded at the Bell Centre last night. Not only did the weary visitors get badly beaten -- 4-1 by the Canadiens -- but they lost one of their core players when Bryan McCabe broke three bones in his left hand after colliding with Andrei Kostitsyn of the Habs midway through the third period. The incident took place along the glass on the opposite side from the team benches. Kostitsyn appeared to spin McCabe into the boards and hammer him with a solid check. McCabe's left wrist was caught up on the glass and it was easy to understand how the bones in his hand snapped. The Leafs' defenceman crumpled to the ice, kicking his feet in agony. He rose to his skates, glided towards the Toronto bench, and motioned for head trainer Rudy Cantu to meet him in the dressing room. There was obviously no doubt in McCabe's mind that he had suffered a terrible injury.
McCabe remained in the visitors' medical room for 30 minutes after the game. I caught a glimpse of the room when the door swung open, and the blueliner's left wrist and forearm were completely wrapped in what appeared to be a makeshift, white cast. Bryan was in obvious discomfort when the Leafs' manager of team services, Dave Griffiths, escorted him out of the medical room and towards the team bus, which was parked inside the delivery entrance of the Bell Centre. McCabe walked slightly bent, holding his left arm towards his body. He indicated clearly that he was in too much pain to talk with reporters.
So, now the Leafs must carry on for approximately six to eight weeks without their top minute-man on the blueline. Had this injury occurred a month ago, it might have prompted Leaf fans to spill onto Yonge Street in a perverse celebration. Such were McCabe's glaring follies earlier in the season. But, the veteran defenceman had been playing exceptionally well in the past two weeks, helping the Leafs to their dramatic turnaround. McCabe was, once again, eating up 30 or more minutes per game, and doing it smoothly.
General manager John Ferguson will almost certainly summon rookie defenceman Anton Stralman from the soaring Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Stralman played seven games with the Leafs earlier in the season and did not look out of place, though he needs loads of work on the physical side of his game. Still, he does possess some obvious skill with the puck, and the veteran replacement Ferguson would have turned to -- Staffan Kronwall -- is ironically also out with a broken hand.
Leafs' coach Paul Maurice was as angry as I've ever seen him after the game last night. He spewed a cascade of f-bombs in his post-game session with the media, believing that Kostitsyn had deliberately spun McCabe into a vulnerable position before delivering the blow from behind that broke the defenceman's wrist. Ferguson seemed to be on a different page than Maurice, feeling it was not a purposeful maneuver by Kostitsyn. Whatever the case, it helped take the air out of what had been a giant balloon full of blue and white magic in the month of December. The Leafs were tired last night after playing in Atlanta on Friday, and were badly outskated by the Canadiens, who busted a six-game winless streak on home ice.
It is too early in Stralman's career to expect the young Swede to fill McCabe's skates. The Leafs had been on such an emotional roll, it will be an enormous challenge for them to re-establish their level of performance without McCabe. But, the long NHL season is full of unexpected challenges. And, perhaps the Toronto players have gained enough trust in one another during the past couple of weeks to compensate for losing one of their irreplaceable parts. As always, only time will tell.
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