Why Mark Giordano Missed Maple Leafs Practice and Jake McCabe's Status for Game Against Lightning on Monday.
Giordano had a recovery day following Toronto's 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday while McCabe skated with his teammates for the first time since sustaining a groin injury.
Mark Giordano likes to skate whenever the option is available to him. That also includes the option to take the ice for a morning skate even though most of his teammates will stay away from the pad.
The 40-year-old defenseman was not on the ice for practice on Sunday as Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe looked to rest the defenseman who skated in a season-high 22:19 in a 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
"I’d call it a recovery day more than a maintenance day," Keefe said of Giordano. "Nothing to do with any sort of injury. It’s just managing his workload and we’re going to need him a lot again tomorrow. He loves his morning skates and we won’t have one. He’d probably want both so we gave him one off today."
Giordano has seen his ice time average swell up to 20:39 in the wake of injuries to the defense that started when Jake McCabe injured his groin in the opening shift of Toronto's 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 26 and followed with Timothy Liljegren suffering a high-ankle sprain on Nov. 2.
McCabe took part in practice for the first time since his injury and took part in the full session. He returned to his usual spot on the second defensive pair.
McCabe said he's taking "day-by-day" as he deals with the first groin injury of 11-year NHL career.
"Injuries are tough, they’re part of this game. You got to deal with them when they come and you got to be smart about them when they come," McCabe said after practice. "It’s tough to lose Lilly and trust me I’m chomping at the bit to get back out."
Keefe said they won't know if McCabe will suit up until the morning or close to game time.
"It’s a really encouraging sign to have him out there today," Keefe said of McCabe.
The Maple Leafs acquired McCabe in February along with and Sam Lafferty (since traded to the Vancouver Canucks) from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade in exchange for a conditional first-round pick at the 2025 draft and a second-round selection in 2026, along with minor leaguers Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev.
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