The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to get an important part of their blue line back in the lineup.
Jake McCabe confirmed that he plans to play against the New Jersey Devils after missing the last four games with an upper-body injury.
Toronto officially activated McCabe off of injured reserve on Thursday afternoon.
The defenceman said he isn't concerned about about any rust with his game.
“It’s only been a week and a half,” McCabe told reporters.
McCabe was placed on injured reserve after his head crashed to the ice at the conclusion of a fight with Flyers heavyweight Garnet Hathaway on Jan. 5.
The tilt was a response to Hathaway crashing into Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby just seconds earlier.
McCabe previously missed five games this season after he was hit on the side of the head by an errant shot.
The 31-year-old has one goal and 10 assists across 36 contests this season, playing on a shutdown pairing alongside Chris Tanev.
In the nine games McCabe has missed this season, Toronto has gone 4-5 and has been outscored 27-19.
McCabe's return is positive news for a Leafs team that will be without key forward John Tavares, who is week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury in practice on Wednesday.
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