The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Friday.

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Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe will miss Saturday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to an undisclosed injury.

"Right now I'd say day-to-day," responded coach Craig Berube when asked about the timeline for McCabe's return. "I can't really comment on that too much, about how long it's going to be."

The team hasn't specified what the injury is or even when it happened.

"I'm not sure when it happened, to be honest with you," Berube said. "I really don't know."

Notably, McCabe was hit into the boards by Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe during his final shift on Wednesday night.

McCabe has missed time with a pair of head-related injuries this season. The Leafs have struggled without him going 4-5-0.

"He brings a lot," Berube acknowledged. "It's hard to sit here and say, 'Oh, we can replace him.' It's pretty tough."

McCabe is averaging 21 minutes and 31 seconds of ice time per game, which leads the team. And those are hard minutes. The 31-year-old faces top lines every night and is also a key contributor on the penalty kill.

"Guys don't want to go up against him," winger Bobby McMann told TSN. "It makes it hard for top lines to be out there, because he's winning battles, taking pucks from them, and finishing hard. That wears teams down. It's always helpful for us when those guys get frustrated. It throws them off their game."

McCabe has landed 118 hits this season, which is behind only Simon Benoit among Leafs defencemen. With 135 blocks, he ranks behind only defence partner Chris Tanev on the team. McCabe has also chipped in 23 points with all but one coming at even strength.

"A heart and soul type of player," said centre John Tavares. "He just brings that type of emotion and passion that guys feed off of and is really important for any hockey team, but certainly for us here."

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson will take McCabe's spot beside Tanev for Saturday's game. Berube likes how the 33-year-old has responded when asked to play more this season.

"He's very good at that," the coach noted. "He can jump from playing the right side back to the left side, different pairs, I mean, he's done it all year and I don't think it bothers him or effects his game, to be honest with you."

Ekman-Larsson, a lefty, has lined up on the right side most of the season.

"I'm ready for whatever," he said. "It's something I'm used to early on in my career, playing those top minutes and, yeah, I'm ready for whatever, like I said. But I've also been playing on the right side a lot this year so I feel like it's different and you have to adapt a little bit."

With 25 even-strength points, Ekman-Larsson leads all Leafs blueliners this season. He is averaging 20 minutes and 58 seconds of ice time per game.

Philippe Myers will draw in on the third pair beside Benoit. He has not played since March 10.

"Miesy is simple, plays aggressively, is big, and kills play," Berube said. "He is physical back there. So, make the simple play with the puck, be good at your net front, and........

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