Did Rielly’s Suspension Spark Leafs?

 

Photo From CityNews Toronto

It was the morning after a 5-3 loss in Ottawa and Leaf fans were waiting for the announcement of Morgan Rielly’s suspension. It would then be announced that Morgan would sit out for five games despite appealing the decision. The media would then speculate how the Leafs would do with a key player out of their lineup and I even had someone tell me the Leafs were a “bad team”.  How did the Leafs respond to Morgan being suspended? They would win their next three home games over St Louis, Philadelphia, and Anaheim. Toronto would then begin a four-game road trip where they would pick up wins in St Louis, Arizona, Vegas, and Colorado on Saturday.

With the Leafs winning 7 games in a row for the first time since 2003 I ask did Rielly being suspended bring this Leafs team together? All season long we have seen this team battle inconsistencies defensively despite still performing well in the conference standings. However, in this recent stretch, we have seen the Leafs perform well defensively. We have seen Toronto spend less time in their end of the rink, and we have also seen TJ Brodie’s game take off after being placed on the left side in a pair with Timothy Liljegren. We have even seen secondary scoring arrive as guys like Domi and Bertuzzi have found the back of the net in recent games. Ilya Samsonov has been solid since returning going 9-1 in his last 10 starts.

I have said it before, and I will repeat it this team is better than the talking heads on TV who seem to think that this Leafs team isn’t good enough even to make the playoffs. Everyone is entitled to an opinion so in my opinion that is ridiculous. The Leafs are currently sitting 4^th in the Eastern Conference and 3^rd in the division. Remember this is a team that has dealt with injuries all season and still maintains a playoff spot. That tells me this team is good enough and talented enough to pick up valuable points in the standings because most teams would have taken a nosedive down the standings. This team has Ilya Samsonov who has looked like the goalie that every fan loved last season and the news gets even better for the Leafs because Joseph Woll has been recalled after his one game with the Marlies, a 4-1 win where he stopped 32-33 shots.

The Leafs are going to get more help on the blue line because Mark Giordano will be returning shortly after stepping away due to the sudden passing of his father. The Leafs return to action Tuesday night when they host the defending champions the Vegas Golden Knights who will be looking for redemption after losing 7-3 to Toronto.

Sure, the Leafs have been frustrating a different points of the season but that’s sports. I have a feeling that this team has found its stride and things are going to become fun and exciting for us fans. This team seems to have been motivated from their teammate being suspended almost playing with a point to prove.