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BUFFALO — With the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs around the corner, the Maple Leafs are playing a waiting game with their injured players.
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We’re talking about defencemen Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, as well as centre David Kampf.
Leafs coach Craig Berube confirmed after the team’s morning skate at the KeyBank Center that McCabe and Ekman-Larsson are dealing with upper-body injuries. We’ve known for a while that Kampf has been hampered by an upper-body injury.
The key is that all three are skating in Toronto as the Leafs complete a two-game trip on Tuesday night against the Sabres, 48 hours after beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1.
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Berube, though, can’t yet nail down when McCabe, Ekman-Larsson and Kampf will be available. The Leafs’ regular season ends on Thursday when they play host to the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena.
After we asked Berube whether McCabe might play against Detroit — Berube said he would talk to McCabe about that possibility — the coach took a question regarding his level of concern for McCabe and the potential of playing in Game 1 of the first round.
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“There’s always a concern, right?” Berube said. “It’s a little ways away yet to be for me to make those kinds of decisions. I have to see them up close a little bit more, talk to these guys and see where they’re at.”
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As for Ekman-Larsson playing in Game 1?
“That’s a good question,” Berube said. “I expect him to play, but you never know. He’s tough, so he’ll play through things. If he’s not in the lineup, somebody else is going to have to step up. That’s part of playoffs.”
Kampf may or may not play against Detroit.
The game against the Sabres marked six in a row that McCabe and Kampf have missed. For Ekman-Larsson, it was his third game in a row.
Also skating in Toronto are forward Max Pacorietty and defenceman Jani Hakanpaa. Both remain on long-term injured reserve.
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