Video: Sabres Expecting Bad News on Jake McCabe Injury

 

Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger is not expecting good news on Jake McCabe's injury suffered during the team's 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. It's likely the coach has just lost one of his top minute eating defensemen for the entire year. 

It could also be McCabe's final game in a Blue and Gold jersey.

"I'll be honest with you, [I'm] not very optimistic about the diagnosis that will come out of this," Krueger said after practice Sunday Feb. 21. "But let's let the medical team take a look at it and give... a full report."

McCabe plays a heavy game every single night and Saturday was no exception. As the Devils' Nico Hischier scrambled after the puck in the third period, trying to gain control while entering into the Sabres' zone, the big D-man from Wisconsin does what he always does and played the man, not the puck. 

His right leg made contact with Hischier's rear end, bending awkwardly. He bailed out of the hit, jumped into the air and fell to the ice in instant pain, clutching the area around his knee. 

Jake McCabe is down and hurting #Letsgobuffalo #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/p9q879bgpP

— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) February 20, 2021

McCabe returned to Buffalo for an MRI to get a better look at his hyperextended limb. A full diagnosis will be released tomorrow. 

McCabe is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Some have speculated, based on inside knowledge, that the injury could be a torn ligament. Recovery from ACL surgery could take up to a year, while recovering from MCL damage would put him on the shelf for at least six weeks, maybe longer. 

Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire