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Toronto Maple Leafs: Morgan Rielly Game Time Decision

By Josh Tessler

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 14: Morgan Rielly
OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 14: Morgan Rielly /
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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly is a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Senators.

According to Kristen Shilton of TSN, Morgan Rielly was on the ice for a optional morning skate, and after his skate the trainers will let Mike Babcock know if Rielly can play tonight when the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Ottawa Senators.

On Thursday night, Rielly and Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers got tangled up, and Rielly hit the ice pretty hard. When Rielly got up from the ice, it appeared as if he hurt his left arm or elbow. Rielly did return in the third period, but was in a limited capacity per a report from TSN.

Rielly was given a day off yesterday and returned to practice this morning. The Toronto Maple Leafs trainers will be monitoring Rielly throughout practice. After practice, they’ll be reporting back to Babcock on his condition.

Plan B

If Rielly sits out tonight, Babcock might choose to roll with Andreas Borgman and Ron Hainsey as his top pairing. For the love of God: No!

It’s a rather interesting choice for Babcock as Borgman doesn’t offer much in the offensive zone.  I suspect that when he ran those lines, he was just using Borgman as a placeholder, on the assumption that Rielly would play.

So far this season, Borgman has 3 goals and 7 assists in 42 games.  He’s had an alright rookie season, but nothing to warrant a top-pair assignment.  Though, Ron Hainsey hasn’t either, so who even knows at this point?

In the past few games, Babcock chose to shuffle Borgman, Connor Carrick and Travis Dermott in and out of the lineup.

Perhaps, Borgman will surprise Leafs Nation tonight and be a great fill-in if Rielly isn’t healthy.

Offensive Line Shuffle

After Tuesday’s loss against the St. Louis Blues, Babcock was adamant that his offensive lines were fine and didn’t require any changes. The abysmal effort out of his offensive lines against the Flyers must have changed his mind.

It appears that Babcock has decided to move Mitch Marner back down to the fourth line. Babcock has chosen to put Connor Brown in Marner’s place on the third line alongside Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. This is yet another frustrating lineup decision by the coach.

Ottawa Senators

On the other side of the ice, the Senators are coming off a terrible loss 4-1 against the Blues. Throughout the game, the Senators’ defense looked rather sluggish especially Erik Karlsson, who continues to have one of the worst seasons of his career.

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Their offense also didn’t look like they had their morning coffee either. This was the Senators’ first game after their bye week and it seemed that their offense was still on vacation. The Senators were out shot 36 to 21 by the Blues.

Bobby Ryan was the lone Senator that looked like he returned from vacation as he grabbed the Senators only goal. Senators fans will be hoping that this is just the start of Ryan’s turn-around. Lately, Ryan’s offensive skill-set has fallen off the metaphorical cliff.

The Senators’ goaltending has also appeared to be weak as well down the stretch. Craig Anderson also looked horrific as well. Currently, Anderson posts a 3.21 GAA and .900 SV%.

If the Senators look to grab a second win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the last two weeks, Anderson and their offense will need to have a resurgence.

Prediction

If the Toronto Maple Leafs offense comes alive tonight, then they have a shot to end their current losing streak.

Hopefully, Auston Matthews can help the Toronto Maple Leafs lead the charge and string up some goals against this weak Senators club.

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My prediction is that the Toronto Maple Leafs will grab a 3-2 win over the Senators.

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