#morgan-rielly

#morgan-rielly

Michael Eyssimont had a goal and an assist as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Thursday to force Game 6 in their first-round playoff series.Anthony Cirelli, with a goal and an assist, Nick Paul and Alex Killorn, into an empty net, also scored for Tampa.Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.

One of the biggest stars of the series for the Maple Leafs, Morgan Rielly addressed the media after his team's first-round series victory over Tampa Bay.As the longest-serving Leaf, can you describe the emotions you're feeling?Where does relief rank in those emotions?Rielly: It is up there for sure.

The Maple Leafs are looking to follow up a solid team victory in Florida with a second win over Carolina in the span of a week tonight in Raleigh (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).Head to Head: Hurricanes vs. Maple Leafs
In the season-to-date statistics, the Leafs hold the advantage over the Hurricanes in three out of five offensive categories, but the Hurricanes hold the advantage over the Leafs in four out of five defensive categories.

Kyle Dubas continued to wheel and deal on Tuesday afternoon, recouping a (very late) first-round pick in 2023 (via Boston) and adding veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson from Washington in exchange for Rasmus Sandin.A 30-year-old left-hander, Gustafsson is a highly mobile, puck-moving defenseman with a heavy shot who is currently top 20 in the NHL in points among defensemen with 38 in 61 games and is 12th among NHL defensemen in five-on-five points with 23 in 61 games.

David Alter has good news from the Maple Leafs morning skate.Morgan Rielly is on the road trip, and was skating today with Mac Hollowell (called up on emergency basis) and Rasmus Sandin (on IR, the cause of the emergency).Later Sheldon Keefe told reporters that Both his injured defenders are day-to-day.

Well, the point streaks had to end eventually, right?Former Leaf Jimmy Vesey scored twice as the Rangers upended the Leafs 3-1 to snap Toronto's 15-game point streak.On top of that, Mitch Marner failed to register a point as well, which marked the end of his impeccable 23 game run.Speaking of which, we have another point streak to watch closely now as Michael Bunting scored to extend his to 10 games.

Last night TJ Brodie made his return to the Leafs lineup after missing 12 games.The Buds were already without Jake Muzzin, meaning they were down their top two defensive defencemen.To make matters worse, Morgan Rielly was injured 5 games into that stretch, and the health of both Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray has been spotty.

On Tuesday night the Leafs saw Victor Mete become the next in the series of Leafs defensemen to leave the game due to an injury and not return.With the Leafs presently without Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie, Jake Muzzin, Jordie Benn and having additional depth injuries to Carl Dahlstrom and Filip Kral, the Leafs defensive depth chart is somewhat beyond ridiculous at the moment.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators07:00 PM at Canadian Tire CentreWatch on: CBC, SNO, SNW, SNP
The Leafs last game was at home on March 17 against the Carolina Hurricanes, which Toronto won by a score of 5-2.The Leafs have a record of 41-18-9 so far.The Ottawa Senators last played at home on March 16 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Minnesota Wild @ Toronto Maple Leafs07:00 PM at Scotiabank ArenaWatch on: TSN4, BSNX, BSWIX
The Leafs last game was an away game on February 21 against the Buffalo Sabres, which Toronto won by a score of 6-3.The Leafs have a record of 35-15-8 so far.The Minnesota Wild last played an away game on February 23 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

I watch a lot of Maple Leafs games.I wince when things go bad, when a defenceman fails due to his own weakness or a momentary error.No one points a camera at me when that happens, though.For Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe they get to react for the world to see.I'm not saying I feel sorry for them, that's part of their job, but they aren't robots, so the emotions of those moments - and the more sober consideration of them - is going to have an effect.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins07:00 PM at TD GardenWatch on: NHLN, CBC, SNO, SNW, NESN
Opponent's Site: Stanley Cup of Chowder Rookies Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann are both out with an illness tonight as the Leafs face the Bruins.Matt Murray will get the start against Linus Ullmark tonight as Conor Timmins subs in next to Morgan Rielly with Jordie Benn coming out.

The Predators had been riding a hot streak, largely due to the impressive goaltending of Juuse Saros, but as good as Saros was, the Matthews-less Leafs managed to inch their way to victory courtesy of a late 3rd period powerplay.The Leafs were dominant over the Predators throughout the game, out-chancing them consistently from the onset of the game.

Period One
McCabe flunking the eye-test again.The captain ties it up.Morgan Rielly with his 400th point.Period Two
Noel Acciari with his first Leafs goal:
Score is 3-2 after two.As you can see, Chicago came out very hard, and the Leafs did not respond until into the second period.But does that mean they're "playing down" and getting totally outplayed?

The Canucks "we're not looking to trade Bo Horvat" t-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by their shirt...That certainly has all the signs of a player being available for trade and while Horvat will not be cheap to acquire and he most definitely will be expensive to retain beyond this season, Horvat is an intriguing option for the Leafs as well as pretty much any other playoff bound team this season.

Happy Monday, what's good?So much to talk about from the weekend.Coming off a 4-3 loss in Boston on Saturday, there was plenty to catch up on for the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take.Despite the loss, I thought the Leafs played relatively well; I loved the playoff feel to the game.At the end of the day, ultimately, some lethal turnovers did them in.

Good morning and welcome to the Tuesday edition of From The Branches.I will be your guide today; please follow me.After a couple of wins and an off-day the Leafs should be back in action to prepare for the next game against Nashville.That one runs Wednesday at 7:30 PM, and is the first of another back-to-back for the Leafs.

The Leafs playing one of their worst games of the year was certainly softened by Team Canada picking up gold in the World Juniors tournament.If you hadn't switched over to primarily watching the gold medal game by the time the third period rolled around in the Leafs game, I don't know what to tell you.

Good morning!The Leafs lost their first game of 2023 last night to the Blues, 6-5 in Overtime.It was a trap game that the Leafs lost.It was a much less fun game than a 10-goal game should rightfully be.The Leafs haven't beaten the Blues in Toronto since 2016.What else is new?Elseldo's got the recap for you here:
Although the game was pretty lacklustre from the Leafs, a few players' efforts did stand out - in particular Michael Bunting's two goal night.

After a four-day holiday break, the Leafs are in St. Louis tonight to tangle with the Blues for the first of three on the road to finish off 2022.Food coma et all, it was nice to get back in the saddle for the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take.While us normal folk can chill out on the couch and recover from all the festivities the past few days, the NHL is back in full bore tonight with 11 games.

After practice on Wednesday, head coach Sheldon Keefe discussed Morgan Rielly's imminent return to the lineup, Dryden Hunt entering the lineup for his first game as a Leaf, and the fine he was issued for his criticism of the officials during Tuesday's win over St. Louis.Practice Lines - December 28

#Leafs lines at practice Dec. 28/22
Bunting-Matthews-NylanderJarnkrok-Tavares-MarnerKerfoot-Kampf-EngvallAstonReese-Holmberg-Hunt Extra: Anderson, Simmonds
Giordano-HollRielly-LiljegrenBrodie-TimminsSandin-Benn
MurraySamsonov@BodogCA @RinkWideTOR
- David Alter (@dalter) December 28, 2022

What kind of boost does it give to the group to have Morgan Rielly on the ice and nearing a return?