Maple Leafs injury report: Insider provides latest on Jake McCabe & $14,000,000 D-man with playoffs approaching

The Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with injuries to Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who signed a four-year $14,000,000 contract in July. Both defensemen missed games over the weekend. The playoffs start in six days, so fans are watching closely. On Monday, NHL insider Darren Dreger gave an update on the "First Up" podcast and said that they are day-to-day and nothing seems too serious.

"Well, it is day-to-day, and it doesn't sound like it's anything ominous at this point," Dreger said. "Sure, they prefer to have those guys healthy and in the lineup, but they're going to take advantage of the time that they have now and the fact that other guys were given (the) opportunity to step up."

Dreger added that the Leafs are using this time to rest their players. He also talked about the strong play of Morgan Rielly on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes, assisting on three of Toronto's goals to help the team secure a 4-1 win, and he did it with a rating of +3, showing his two-way play.

Rielly has stepped up since the trade deadline after the Leafs added Brandon Carlo, which helped their defense. Dreger mentioned that despite missing key players from the lineup, Toronto earned four points over the weekend.

"But you look at the bright spots when you are understaffed," Dreger said. "And they were largely understaffed against the Hurricanes, but I don't get the sense that either McCabe or OEL are serious enough to have concerns for game one of the playoffs. So I think that that's what the Maple Leafs are looking forward to, and so if they deal with a little adversity the next game, maybe two, it's not that big of a deal."

McCabe, Ekman-Larsson and Kampf did not take the ice for Leafs' morning skate on Tuesday and remain out for their clash against the Buffalo Sabres.

Maple Leafs' situation with Jake McCabe and OEL

Jake McCabe missed the Maple Leafs' weekend games against the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes. He is still expected to return before the regular season ends. McCabe had six assists in his last seven games and his offense has helped the team in recent weeks.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson also missed the last two games. His injury is not considered serious. It is not clear if he will play on Tuesday in Buffalo as Toronto recalled Dakota Mermis to fill the lineup.

The Leafs played with just five defensemen on Saturday, and against Carolina on Sunday. However, according to NHL insider Darren Dreger, this is not a big concern for the team. The hope is that McCabe and Ekman-Larsson could return soon. For now, Toronto is focused on being ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.