""I think it's been a little lacking here this first little while. I'm certainly guilty of it too through the first five, six games," McCabe said to reporters after the game. I think at the beginning of the year, sometimes you kind of dip your toe in the water rather than jump full in. Made an admission here the last couple of nights to bring that side of my game out a little bit more, cause I've certainly played better and I know my teammates feed off it as well.""
"" He's certainly made me a lot better pro," he said. " Just being around him, watching him how he goes through his process, it's quite impressive. I know we always talk about it, but I just study every single year. And to have that in your room as a leader is super crucial for our team.""
McCabe built on a strong performance from the previous night, playing with urgency and physicality to revive a sluggish Maple Leafs group. He was active at both ends of the ice and used body play to spark the team. Late in the first, he delivered a big open-ice hit on Bowen Byram and then knocked out Alex Tuch in a fight that resulted in an instigator penalty. McCabe acknowledged that physical edge had been lacking early in the season and said he intentionally brought that side out. His energy lifted teammates and earned him team MVP honors. John Tavares set up Matias Maccelli's goal and scored the overtime winner, leaving him one goal shy of 500 career regular-season goals.
Read at TheLeafsNation
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