Toronto Maple Leafs: Morgan Rielly steps up in Game Three
By Neal DeRosa
The Toronto Maple Leafs are not going down without a fight.
After a disastrous first two games of the series, the Toronto Maple Leafs needed their top players to step up heading into Game Three. In particular Morgan Rielly was in desperate need of a rebound, as he was on the ice for a combined five goals over the first two games. In addition, the Leafs were severely outshot when Rielly was on the ice. In my last article I added some videos and analysis breaking down what went wrong for Rielly in Game’s One and Two, which you can find here.
In order to stop the Bergeron line at home, not only would the Leafs new shutdown line have to make a huge impact, they would also need their top defenseman to elevate his game. While the Leafs still got outshot when Rielly was on the ice last night, they were able to limit both high danger scoring chances and most importantly, goals. The trio of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand were held off the scoresheet for the first time in this series.
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Morgan Rielly is most effective when he is using his mobility to stay aggressive with and without the puck. In the first two games Rielly was timid and indecisive during the Bruins relentless forecheck. As a result, the Leafs had a tough time cleanly breaking out of their zone against the Bergeron line leading to a plethora of problems. In Game Three, Morgan Rielly looked like the Morgan Rielly we all know.
Below I have a few GIFs of Morgan Rielly’s work from Game Three.
Rielly makes two smart decisions with the puck. First, he draws in the opposition using lateral movement, then throws the puck on net knowing there’s traffic there. Once he receives the puck back, he quickly sets up Hainsey for a one-timer. In one sequence we see Rielly creating something out of nothing, and then next making the simple play instead of forcing one.
His effective decision making leads to the Leafs first goal.
Morgan Rielly is at his best when he uses his legs to evade incoming forwards. Below, he aggressively takes control of the play, uses his mobility to gain space from the forechecker then picks out Mitch Marner with a pass off the boards. This leads to the two-on-one which puts the Leafs up 2-1.
Once again, Rielly uses his legs to create space for himself to make a play. Here he finds a flying Kasperi Kapanen. Kapanen blows by Chara but is stopped by his biggest rival, the post.
This is the best of Morgan Rielly in his own zone. Right off the face-off Rielly battles with Marchand, falls down and still recovers his position to block Bergeron from scoring on an open net. What I love about this sequence is Rielly’s aggressiveness to jump up in the attack when the Leafs gain control of the puck. Rielly realizes the three Bruins forwards are caught and looks to create an odd man rush.
Morgan Rielly had a number of critics after Game Two but responded in a big way on home ice. The Toronto Maple Leafs have another “must-win” game on Thursday as they look to tie the series up. In order to do so, the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to need Morgan Rielly to be at his best.
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