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Rielly playing hurt, Atlantic top three quite familiar; Leafs vs. Jets

January 8, 2020, 4:48 PM ET [833 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The 15-5-1 run under Sheldon Keefe has catapulted the Toronto Maple Leafs into a playoff spot, but as the league has reached the halfway mark of the season, the familiar trio of Boston, Tampa Bay and Toronto has settled into the top three of the Atlantic Division.

A 6-2 win in Nashville on Tuesday maintained the Bruins comfortable seven-point advantage in the division (due in part to earning 11 points in overtime/shootout losses), while Tampa’s 9-2 thrashing of Vancouver moved the Lightning past the Leafs into second place with two games in hand. With Buffalo and Montreal dropping in the standings and Florida battling for a wild card spot but not out of range, the battle in the second-half may be over home-ice advantage and whether Toronto will play the Lightning for the first time in their history or the Bruins for the four time in seven seasons.

After the end of their 10-game consecutive points streak in a loss to Edmonton, the Leafs are looking to get back in the win column as they face the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. Toronto bested the Jets 6-3 last Thursday, in a contest where their defense allowed 48 shots on goalie Frederik Andersen.

Following a questionable effort in their own zone against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, Keefe was forced to pull his starter early in the second against Edmonton and will be looking for the club to play more conscientiously in their own zone, something that has been an issue for most of the season.

“We tried to isolate a few really important pieces and different areas of the game that are part of the structure,” Keefe said on Tuesday. “We think some of those details are important and sometimes get lost over the course of a season, so we are using (practice) to do that.”

Injuries have been a constant issue with the club this season, as the Leafs have been without John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Jake Muzzin, Zach Hyman, Travis Dermott, Ilya Mikheyev, Jake Muzzin, Andreas Johnsson and Trevor Moore for long stretches.

Mikheyev will have his wrist laceration re-evaluated in late March, Muzzin is still in a walking boot and is not expected to return until after the All-Star break, while Johnsson and Moore are skating but not close to being ready.

Another injury that has not resulted in an absence from the lineup but has definitely had an impact is to defenseman Morgan Rielly.

The 25-year-old blueliner had a career-high 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) last season, but has 25 points (3 goals, 22 assists) in 44 games this season and has not scored a goal in 32 games. Rielly indicated in an interview with The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel that he is dealing with a lower-body injury that caused him to miss practices early in the year, but not any games.

"It was a pretty significant amount of pain, but I did my MRIs and everything like that and there was no damage to the real important things. So it was just a matter of pain management." Rielly said. “We took some action over the Christmas holidays and I’m feeling much better after some minor stuff that we did. I think it’s just having confidence — and the pain is way lower than it was, and I’m able to just go out and play more.”

Rielly’s limitations have been apparent at times (reference the McDavid goal on Monday). The Leafs have been more judicious at managing his ice time (down almost a minute since Keefe took over from Mike Babcock) by removing him from the top power play unit and shifting Tyson Barrie to share the puck-carrying burden on the top pairing, but it could result in GM Kyle Dubas seeking to upgrade his defense before the February 24th NHL Trade Deadline.

No lineup changes are expected for Toronto, with Andersen getting the start and facing Connor Hellebuyck in the rematch against the Jets.

Thursday – Report Card Part II – Centers


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