Leafs give away points before bye week, looking for strong push upon return
TORONTO — Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly is thankful for Toronto’s bye week, perhaps more than others in the dressing room.
Toronto started its five-day break on Thursday on the heels of back-to-back losses. Both looked to be winnable games against tired teams playing the second of a back-to-back on the road, but Rielly made a mistake in each that led to important goals in the dying minutes of the third period.
“I think if I’m not mistaken last year’s break came at a time when we were rolling and we didn’t really want to go away for a week. Right now, I think a little break might not be the worst thing,” Rielly said after Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Senators.
Overall, Toronto outplayed its opponent in both but only came away with one of a possible four points.