Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe credits increased physicality as key to OT win vs. Sabres

Coming off a strong showing the previous night against the same opponent, McCabe picked up where he left off with a sense of urgency to help get his struggling team back on track. He was active at both ends of the ice, but it was his eagerness to play the body that helped kick-start the Leafs during a time when they were playing sleepily.

Late in the first period, he laid a big open-ice hit on Bowen Byram and then TKO’d Alex Tuch in a fight that drew an instigator penalty.

“I  think it’s been a little lacking here this first little while. I’m certainly guilty of it too through the first five, six games,” McCabe said to reporters after the game. I  think at the beginning of the year, sometimes you kind of dip your toe in the water rather than jump full in. Made an admission here the last couple of nights to bring that side of my game out a little bit more, cause I’ve certainly played better and I know my teammates feed off it as well.”

“Yeah, he certainly made me a lot better pro,” he said. “Just being around him, watching him, how he goes through his process. It’s quite impressive. We always talk about it, but, man, Mr. Steady every single year. And to have that in your room as a leader is super crucial for our team and we certainly don’t take it for granted.”

One regular-season win won’t define the year at large, but the overall process is more in line with what type of team the Leafs want to be and gives them a much-needed step in the right direction. No doubt it was far from perfect, and McCabe would attest to that, but you have to start somewhere to propel your team to establishing an identity.

If nothing else, McCabe was motivated to play well against his former team and get the victory for his current team.

“Typically, you’re always kind of looking around.  My record against Buffalo hasn’t been great since I’ve left them, so I was eager for two points tonight,” he said.

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