Leafs winger credits new teammate for recent scoring surge and increased work ethic
In his last 9 games, Zach Aston-Reese has 3 goals and has been playing some of his best hockey of the season. He scored twice against Columbus last night, both from the dirty area in front of the net. One was a quick shot from the slot and the other was a deflection on a Jake McCabe shot. The deflection was his second such goal in his last 4 games.
Following the game, Aston-Reese was asked about his recent uptick in production and practicing his tips and deflections at the end of practice, which has led to 2 of his last 3 goals and cited a new Leaf as the reason. "Maybe Ryan O'Reilly coming. If you watch him at the end of practice, he's always working on small, little details and offensive habits around the net." Prior to O'Reilly arriving, ZAR had just 2 goals in his previous 15 games and had gone 16 games between goals.
Even though O'Reilly hasn't played in a month, the Leafs have noticed how much of a "rink rat" he is with Keefe saying at one point that it had felt like O'Reilly had been in his gear for three hours. The Leafs didn't just bring in O'Reilly to add depth and playoff experience to the team, they brought him in for his leadership and meticulous attention to detail, which has clearly rubbed off on Aston-Reese and others around the room. O'Reilly will look to make his presence felt on the ice again as he is slated to get into game action either Thursday or Saturday for the first time since breaking his finger a month ago.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 5 | 240 ANSWERS Leafs winger credits new teammate for recent scoring surge and increased work ethic How high would you be willing to go on Ryan O'Reilly if he was willing to sign an extension? | ||
| More than $6M per | 17 | 7.1 % |
| $5M-$6M | 59 | 24.6 % |
| $4M-$4.9M | 96 | 40 % |
| Only if it's less than $4M per | 68 | 28.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
