Maple Leafs place McCabe on IR, recall Rifai

The Toronto Maple Leafs placed defenseman Jake McCabe on injured reserve Monday, the team announced. The move sidelines McCabe for at least the next three games.

Blue-liner Marshall Rifai was recalled from the AHL in a corresponding move.

McCabe suffered an upper-body injury during a first-period fight with Garnet Hathaway in Sunday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers and did not return.

McCabe was able to leave the ice on his own power.

"I didn't like it. I didn't like what I saw," Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said postgame. "He's sticking up for his team and his teammate. We all really appreciate that, but I do not like seeing that happen."

Berube added that the injury is "concerning" considering McCabe already missed five games after a puck struck him in the side of his head earlier in the season.

McCabe has formed one of the NHL's top shutdown pairs alongside Chris Tanev this season. The duo ranks fourth in the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes among pairings with at least 300 five-on-five minutes, according to Evolving-Hockey.

The 31-year-old has recorded one goal and 10 assists in 36 games while averaging 20:52 per night this season, his third in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs signed McCabe to a five-year, $22.57-million extension in October.

Rifai, 26, stands at 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds. He's tallied four points in 26 games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies this campaign and has made two NHL appearances in his career.