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Toronto Maple Leafs fans pointed their fingers at defenseman Jake McCabe for his play in overtime in the loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday. Many termed it as a turning point that cost Toronto the game.
The game was deadlocked at 1-1 after the end of the first period. Auston Matthews continued his stellar performance and scored two goals to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead.
The Maple Leafs had entered the UBS Arena with an impressive four-game winning streak, limiting their oppponents to just three goals.
However, against a strong forechecking Islanders, the flaws in the Leafs' blue line began to resurface, and several poor defensive plays proved to be a major concern for the team.
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The Leafs failed to keep the Islanders at bay, with goals from Alexander Romanov and Bo Horvat in under 10 minutes tying the game at 3-3 before moving into overtime.
The defensive pairing of Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit has proved to be solid for the Leafs on the blue line since coach Sheldon Keefe decided to put the players together a few weeks ago.
In overtime against the Islanders, Jake McCabe started alongside Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. In one play, the 30-year-old defenseman attempted a pass that was far beyond Matthews' reach and was eventually called for icing.
Matthews lost the face-off, and Matthew Barzal capitalized on the opportunity, beating McCabe in the net for the Islanders' win.
Leafs fans were disappointed with McCabbe's effort and took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their opinions. One tweeted:
"McCabe cost us the game."
Here are some more reactions on X:
How has Jake McCabe fared for the Maple Leafs this season?
McCabe has performed decently for the Leafs this season. He has played in the second line of the Leafs' defense alongside Simon Benoit and averaged 20 minutes of ice time.
Moreover, McCabe has also been productive in providing goalscoring opportunities. His 12 assists make him the club's second defenseman, after Morgan Reilly, in feeding the Maple Leafs' offense.
Overall, Jake McCabe has accumulated 14 points through two goals and 12 assists in 33 games with 52 shots and a plus/minus of +12.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are third in the Atlantic Division with 50 points and have slipped to 10th overall in the league standings. They take on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
