Sheldon Keefe downplays the impact that a Rielly injury would have on the Leafs
Not only did the Leafs blow a late third period lead to the Islanders last night, but they also lost Morgan Rielly to what appears to be a knee injury. Midway through the third period, Rielly collided with Kyle Palmieri. Following the collision, Rielly played just one more shift before leaving the game for good.
Post-game, Keefe said that Rielly will have tests done today and the Leafs will go from there. If Rielly is out for any amount of time, that would mean that the Leafs are without three of their top-4 defensemen as he would join T.J. Brodie and Jake Muzzin.
"Morgan is so important to our team and to our back end in particular. But, we lose Muzzin? We made a big deal of it. It wasn't a big deal. Brodie? Made a big deal of it. It wasn't a big deal. Just gotta keep playing, because that's the way it goes," said Keefe of the media blowing the loss of Muzzin and Brodie out of proportion. Keefe has a point, even without Muzzin and now Brodie, the Leafs have been a top-5 team defensively 5-on-5.
Obviously the hope is that Rielly isn't out long-term, but if he is, it will give Rasmus Sandin an opportunity to prove that he is a top-4 defenseman and it will let the Leafs see just how ready some of their Marlies defensemen are. Let's not forget that the Leafs also have Victor Mete available in case Keefe prefers to go with someone with more experience than Mac Hollowell or Filip Kral.
