"I've got more to give": Morgan Rielly Not Satisfied With Recent Turnaround for Leafs
Photo credit: James Guillory - USA Today Sports
After a frustrating first half to his season, Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has really turned things around, but feels that he has "more to give".
Morgan Rielly's on-ice struggles have been well-documented this season. We've heard criticisms from Craig Berube, the well-known hockey pundits, and even Rielly himself, but his recent stretch of games gives hope that a turnaround is just the start.
After a sluggish stretch of 33 games where Rielly potted 1 goal and 8 assists to go along with a minus-17 rating, he enters the 4-Nations Face-Off on a 4-game point streak with a goal and 3 assists as well as a plus-3 rating over that stretch.
It's a small sample size compared to the aforementioned 33-game drought, but considering the amount of pressure placed on the veteran defenseman to produce, the Toronto Maple Leafs should be more than pleased with his recent efforts.
As for Rielly, well, he believes he has a lot more to give and thinks the 4-Nations break will do a lot more good than harm as reported by David Alter from The Hockey News:
"I've got more to go. I've got more to give," Rielly said after the 2-1 loss in Vancouver. "I think we all feel that way, and I think the timing of this break is great. We're going to come back. We're all going to ramp up. We're all going to look to improve and help the team and individually look to improve our game. Just get rolling."
Berube called out Rielly recently, claiming that while his defensive game has been better, the Maple Leafs need a lot more from him offensively. After last night's game, Berube seems pretty content with his performance:
"He's definitely moving better and activating more and, you know, looking to produce more," Berube said of Rielly after the game.
It's not just the head coach who has noticed the change in his game either as some of his teammates like Matthew Knies are giving the veteran defenseman his flowers:
"He's been really good on the back end for us," Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies said. "He's got confidence back and really moving the puck well and he's fine in the back of net so that's all we can ask for him."
With 27 games remaining until the end of the regular season, Rielly will be counted on to carry the load on the back-end alongside Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe. Hopefully his recent stretch of success continues after the break as the Leafs look to claim their first division crown since 2000 (excluding the North Division, during the COVID-19 shortened seasons).
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