You have to be lucky to be good, and the New York Islanders lucked out with their acquisition of defenseman Mike Reilly.
LAS VEGAS -- You have to be lucky to be good, and the New York Islanders lucked out with their acquisition of defenseman Mike Reilly.
It was a right place, right time situation for Reilly and the Islanders as the 30-year-old landed on waivers just as New York lost their No. 1 defenseman, Adam Pelech, and depth defenseman, Sebastian Aho.
After going back and forth from the Boston Bruins to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, often for the better part of two years, Reilly inked a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers for the 2023-24 season.
The expectation is that he would play, but Panthers head coach Paul Maurice only called his name twice through their opening 12 games.
Landing on waivers on Nov. 25, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello claimed the Chicago native to help fill a much-needed hole on the backend.
But Reilly has been so much more than a fill-in for the Islanders in his 18 games in the lineup.
Although eight points in 18 games isn't anything to gloat about, it's Reilly's transitioning skills that have played a critical role in allowing the Islanders offense to flourish since stepping into the lineup.
"He's been fantastic," Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said. "I mean, he's poised. He's got poise with the puck. When we talk about breaking pucks out -- good, clean plays -- I think he makes a lot of those plays. Very poised guy and jumps into the offense.
"And he's got a good shot. He's played at the point on the power play. He was very good. We're very fortunate to get him when we got him."
The NHL is about making the most of your opportunities, and for Reilly, there's no question, after a rocky ending in Boston and things not going the way he wanted in Florida, that Long Island offered him the opportunity he was waiting for.
Taking advantage of that opportunity has been a major confidence boost for the 30-year-old journeyman, and it means everything to get the opportunity.
"It means a lot," Reilly told The Hockey News. "I just want to take it and kind of run with it and stick to my strengths and learn along the way here, get the system down, just try to break the puck out and get up the ice a little bit and kind of get the game going a little bit faster.
"I've been very excited about that."
Coming to a new room is never easy, but Reilly's found a way to fit into a group primarily made up of a lot of the guys who were here when Boston met the Islanders in the playoffs back in the summer of 2021.
"I feel pretty comfortable in terms of just being in the locker room and around the guys and talking to guys if I need it or need to have some questions about something," Reilly said. "But yeah, I think it's been pretty smooth. So it's good to kind of lean on a couple of the guys here that have been for here for a long time."
As for the system, Reilly said that it's different than what he was playing in Florida.
"A lot of the systems are pretty similar around the league. There's always a couple of tweaks. Florida was a man-on-a-man system, that's just a little bit different, but I think for us, we're trying to nail down the defensive zone and just learn the small details and the habits these guys have been doing for a long time here. Maybe it slipped a little bit, but I'll just keep going right back on track."
Just how good has Reilly been for the Islanders in his 16:26 minutes per game?
Before Reilly suited up for his first game with New York against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 28, the Islanders' offense averaged 2.55 goals per game through the club's first 20 games.
Since the mobile defenseman made his Islanders debut, his new squad has scored 3.72 goals per game over their last 18, the third most over that span.
"He moves the puck well, and he's got great feet," Mathew Barzal told THN. "You saw last night on his goal, like, I got the puck and just saw him flying down, so he's got great instincts offensively, and, even defensively, he's hard to play against, so he's been great for us. He's been huge."
"I try to look for him," Barzal said. "I mean, with my game, I like to pull up and kind of delay and hit guys coming in late, so it's definitely nice to have Reilly.
"We've teamed up on a couple of goals now and a couple of other good looks, so yeah, just to have a guy that's got those instincts, and he can get up in the rush with his feet."
Barzal continued: "I talked to him before the game like, hey, like when you get the puck, let's let's get up the ice and make plays. We haven't really had too many of those where we've been had that connection yet. You know where he is getting up the ice, and I'm kind of flying up, and he gives me a pass. It's more been. He's been trailing. I mean, give him just lob shots. And he's been walking down, which I really appreciate. So, yeah, hopefully, we can find that element in our game, too."
Reilly has played primary alongside fellow speedster Sebastian Aho, sharing the ice for 135.4 minutes at 5-on-5 play. The two have been outscored 7-5, with that stat line not always on them.
Aho has been used to playing with bigger, more defensive defensemen during his time with the Islanders, so playing with Reilly has been different.
"He is quite an offensive defenseman. He's great with the puck. He knows when to when to join and when not to join," Aho told THN. "And that's obviously another dimension in our game that it's always good to have.
"I feel like we understand each other really well. And we kind of want to play similar games, which is always a good thing because I feel like we're on the same page most of the time. We're playing good hockey right now.
Reilly's game isn't complex. It's simple because he can easily go north-south, like his buddy Nick Leddy. So, coming to Long Island, he's tried not to overcomplicate things.
"I've just been able to come in and play my game a little bit and just break the puck out and use my feet to get out of trouble," Reilly said. "Get the puck up north. I think if I'm doing that, it's an easier game. You're defending less. You're playing with the puck a little bit more. There's more possession. Come to the neutral zone more. There's more time in the offensive zone. It just starts in the defensive zone, being hard on guys, trying to take away time and space, and then last, you're trying to get going up the ice."
Brock Nelson has been a friend of Reilly's for a long time. We will have more about their friendship on Saturday morning before they skate ahead of their battle with the Vegas Golden Knights at 10 PM ET.
The Islanders' gifted goal scorer chose one word to describe Reilly's impact.
"Huge," Nelson said. "I think he's played pretty solid. He obviously moves really well. It's good. He has really good instincts and good puck skills, and he sees the ice extremely well.
"I'm slightly biased because he's been a workout partner of mine for a number of years, and I like his game a lot. So for us, I think he's come in and played extremely well and feels confident and comfortable and definitely helps our backend depth-wise."
As for what Nelson's seen in Reilly's game: "I think it's the instincts part of it and the puck-skills combo. I think just good hockey reads and good anticipation. I think the goal is an example of that, and just good timing by him, jumping up there and a nice pass from Barzal to kind of find him. Offensively, it's kind of the same thing in the offensive zone. He sees the ice extremely well. He's got a good shot. So for offensive purposes, I think he's pretty good back there at creating some stuff."
With Adam Pelech (LTIR) still not back in the Islanders lineup despite practicing for a fourth straight day and Ryan Pulock (LTIR) not skating yet, the Islanders need Reilly to continue to be the difference maker he's been.
There's no question that he's earned a starting job even when the Islanders' blue line returns to full strength.
You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.