Inside the Maple Leafs’ renewed commitment to the 4-forward power play

Rielly rejected the hypothesis that it’s a new point of emphasis, but getting a shot off quickly is what Berube is instructing from his power play unit through October. He’s the longest-tenured Maple Leafs player and has played ample time on the power play throughout his career, but his role may be magnified in a way that it hasn’t been in the past.

“There’s always an emphasis on that, I think. But it’s always fun playing with those highly skilled players, and so you just try to do your part,” Rielly said post-game Thursday.

And perhaps the shift in format may be academic to the casual observer, but it’s clear that Rielly’s vision and decision-making are lauded by his teammates.

“I think the way Mo moves up top there and makes plays, he’s a really good player that can see the ice, so it’s good,” Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton said to The Leafs Nation on Thursday. “I don’t see much of a difference. Obviously, we had a really good power play last year, and Mitchy was on top, but slide in a couple of guys there, and it’s a really good power play overall, so I don’t see much of a difference.”

Ekman-Larsson expanded on the role of the defenceman on the power play, along with the freedom and improvisational qualities that the job can require.

“I think, obviously, you have your guidelines,” Ekman-Larsson told The Leafs Nation at Thursday’s morning skate. “If you can say that, it’s you know what you’re doing on the breakout. You know the set plays in the zone. But most of the times it’s just a read. And that’s what good players do. And that’s why we have the players that we have on the power play. They make good reads and it happens quick, right? So I think it’s just a read and obviously sticking to simplifying it a little bit. Sometimes when you struggle, you cannot look at that next play instead of maybe shooting it and stuff like that.”

Resetting at the top was a core concept for the Maple Leafs’ power play last season, and through the preseason, Rielly has been in excellent form, showing an increased willingness to shoot, to go along with a renewed commitment in rush defence scenarios. Here’s an example from the September 23 game against the Ottawa Senators. Matthews surveys the zone, doesn’t have a shooting lane and gets the puck back to Rielly, who one-times it directly at the net, with Tavares set up in the bumper role and Knies getting to the net-front. The puck ricochets back to Matthews, who once again surveys the ice, resets to Rielly, who then goes back to Matthews, who is now open on the flank. Ottawa quickly closes on Matthews’ shooting lanes, he resets to Rielly again, who once again launches it towards the net. It didn’t lead to a goal, but the process is working, as Toronto is looking to generate more offence from the blue line this season.

Without an all-world playmaker in the lineup, it will be a collective effort but this is still a star-studded Maple Leafs team up front. Berube knows this inherently and is letting his best players operate to their strengths, with a renewed commitment to simple, direct hockey.

Although the Maple Leafs lost Thursday’s preseason tuneup, Berube is content with Rielly’s orchestration of the power play. A renewed commitment to resetting at the top and getting shots before the base defence gets set could go a long way for a Maple Leafs team that will need to punish teams routinely on the man advantage, in order to secure their status as a Stanley Cup contender.

“Well, what he did right away, was shot it, right? Created the shot, created the stress and the chaos. I think just being direct like that. We want to establish a quick shot early in the power play and we’re doing that. That’s a big, key thing.”