Morgan Rielly Suspended 5 Games + Toronto Maple Leafs vs Blues

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be taking on the St. Louis Blues at home tonight, but the big story ahead of the game is Morgan Rielly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs best defenseman is going to be out for a while, but as of this writing, there has been no announcement. Most likely there will be one just as I send this out and go for dinner!

Update: That is exactly what happened, and Rielly was suspended for five games. Seems fair. Discussion to follow! Enjoy the game.

In the meantime, the Leafs will be playing the Blues after losing two of their last three since the all-star break.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs St. Louis Blues

The Toronto Maple Leafs have not been good on home ice this year, and since they don't currently have an NHL goalie on their roster, and since without Rielly they have one of the worst blue-lines in the NHL, I don't expect a strong performance tonight.

That said, it's entirely possible the Leafs rally around Rielly and play one of their best games of the year. I mean what can be more inspiring than the NHL's worst player, Grampa Reeves, spouting outdated nonsense to the media like a guy who just found out that Pet Sounds was no longer considered the best album of all-time?

Calls for the NHL to be more violent are completely uncalled for. Current medical science as it relates to things like career hockey enforcers and CTE, make longing for violence similar to longing for the days where you could smoke in a hospital.

Anyways, the Leafs are likely to lose more games than they win with Rielly out, but they have a great core so you never know if Matthews and Marner will outscore their troubles or not.

The Blues are currently, like the Leafs, in a wildcard position, but their hold on a playoff spot is much more tenuous than the Leafs is. The Leafs are extremely likely to make the playoffs because they can likely secure a division spot and don't have to rely on the Wild Card. The Blues are too far back for that.

The Leafs will be dressing both Ryan Reaves and Noah Gregor, and Gregor is going to be on the third line, so it is unlikely they win this game when you also factor in that they are starting Ilya Samsonov and won't have Morgan Rielly.

This might be the worst lineup the Leafs have dressed since Matthews was drafted. Either way, it will be an adventure.