Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly is expected to return to the Leafs lineup on Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes, according to Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Rielly had missed the last 15 games for the Leafs with a knee injury, a span of over a month. The Leafs went 12-2-1 in his absence, thanks to the work of a strong defensive structure from Keefe, as well as the emergence of new addition Conor Timmins and the play of Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren as a top four pair.
Rielly is slated to play on a pair with Timothy Liljegren when he returns instead of his usual partner in T.J. Brodie, who will be partnered with Timmins to give the Leafs three even pairs as opposed to a set first, second, and third pair. Rielly has played 66:45 minutes at 5v5 with Liljegren this season, outscoring the opposition 3-1 and a 50.18% 5v5 xGF%.
Rielly will also see a change on the power play, as he will be on the second unit with Timmins instead of his usual spot on the first unit with the Leafs currently opting for a five forward deployment. The last time Rielly was off the first power play unit for a significant stretch of time was the 2019-20 season when he gave up his spot for Tyson Barrie.
Despite missing more than a month, Rielly is still tied for sixth on the Leafs with points. While he has yet to score a goal this season, Rielly has 16 assists in 20 games, with six on the power play.
It’ll be interesting to see how Rielly’s return impacts the Leafs current defensive structure, as his well-noted defensive deficiencies could either cause the Leafs defense to get worse, or it could be masked by the system. Rielly currently has been on the ice for 2.75 goals against per 60 minutes at 5v5 this season, the worst total among regular Leafs this season, as well as 2.46 expected goals against per 60 at 5v5, which only Victor Mete has worse totals among the Leafs regular blueliners.
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