Mike Reilly and Nick Leddy have been best friends for quite a while. Although they've met before, Thursday is the first time Reilly will battle Leddy as a member of the Islanders.
Mike Reilly and Nick Leddy have been best friends for quite a while. Although they've met before, Thursday is the first time Reilly will battle Leddy as a member of the Islanders.
When Mike Reilly walked into the New York Islanders practice facility on Nov. 26, he learned that he'd be donning No. 2.
Although there have been a few players to wear that number for the organization, the last NHL regular to rock it was Nick Leddy, who happens to be Reilly's best bud.
"I walked in yesterday, and I dropped my bag off, and I already had number two," Reilly said a few days after being claimed off waivers by the Florida Panthers. "So, that's about all I know. But I knew it was my best buddy's old number in Leddy, so it's just kind of funny. I gave him a text yesterday after I found out."
Although Reilly was born in Chicago, he grew up in Chanhassen, Minnesota, eventually playing for Leddy's alma mater, the University of Minnesota.
The two missed each other by three years, with Leddy 32 and Reilly 30, but the two train in the summers together and stayed close as their careers progressed.
For the first time as a member of the Islanders, Reilly will face Leddy when the Islanders battle the Blues on Thursday night in St. Louis.
The last time the two buds went head-to-head was on Nov. 7, as Reilly's Boston Bruins played host, beating the Blues 3-1 at T.D. Garden.
The two have played against one another 13 times in the NHL, with Reilly up 10-3 in meetings during the regular season.
Leddy and the Islanders knocked Reilly and the Bruins out of the playoffs in 2021, winning four games to two.
Reilly has four goals and nine assists in 32 games since joining the Islanders this season, scoring last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Leddy has three goals and 18 assists in 55 games with the Blues this season.
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 on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook.