Craig Berube on Morgan Rielly's injury absence until after the Olympic break: "For sure, it is a loss for the team... We haven't mentioned this issue, but it has been going on for a bit"

"For sure, it is a loss for the team. A couple of D will go in - Myers and Benoit - and they are going to have to do a really good job as a six-man unit tonight. [Rielly] probably won't be back here before the break, but the break will do him a lot of good, getting a reset here and getting back, healthy, and fresh going forward."

"He is still being evaluated, so I can't answer the question right now. It was in-game. He left the bench, went behind, came back, and tried it again. There was nothing he could do. This has been lingering with him for a bit. We haven't mentioned it, but it has been going on for a bit, this issue. It has obviously gotten worse."

"Any time you have some sort of lingering injury - I am not even calling it an injury, because he was playing - it affects your play, for sure. I don't think that was a big reason for his play. I know we talk about his play a lot, but if you look at our team's play during that stretch where we weren't doing very well, he is just a part of it ."

Morgan Rielly is dealing with a lingering issue that worsened during a game; he left the bench, returned briefly, and now is under evaluation. Rielly probably will not be back before the break, which should provide time to reset and recover. Myers and Benoit will be added to the defensive group, forming a six-man unit that must perform well. Joseph Woll will start in goal. The team seeks to replicate the previous game's pace and quickness across all three zones: killing plays in the defensive zone, transitioning up ice, beating the neutral zone, sustaining offensive zone time, and using an effective forecheck against the Flames.

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