The duo acquired from the Blackhawks have moved into the Leafs lineup but have yet to settle into Toronto thanks to a long road trip.
“Huge goal for us,” said Keefe. “I thought Lafferty really came alive in the second period, really starting to skate through the neutral zone with the puck. I thought that really caught them on their heels a few times.
“I really saw signs of what Lafferty is capable of in terms of putting the other team on their heels with his speed. He’s done that at different times in earlier games with us. But it was more off the puck and getting up the ice and applying pressure. it was with the puck and carrying through the neutral zone, which it’s probably a byproduct of playing at centre. And he was good on faceoffs too as a right-handed shot, so that was really nice to see.
Lafferty was drafted out of high school by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014, became a top scorer in four years at Brown University, and spent one full season, and parts of two seasons in the AHL before establishing himself in the NHL. The Penguins traded him to Chicago in the 2021-22 season for Alex Nylander . He’s having his best season offensively this year, with 10 goals and 12 assists.
McCabe, from Eau Claire, Wisc., is perhaps better known if only because of his eight years with rival Buffalo before signing a four-year deal with Chicago in 2021-22. He once hit Patrik Laine so hard — and cleanly — that the then Jets winger suffered a concussion.
McCabe has a Jake Muzzin vibe about him, bringing that snarl to the Leafs and has assumed Muzzin’s role with the veteran out for the remainder of the season with a fractured neck.
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