Maple Leafs Defenseman Morgan Rielly's Injury Status Revealed Ahead Of Avalanche Clash

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly missed the team's last game on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils with a lower-body injury. It was the first game he missed this season, and he won't be playing on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche either.

Despite a key component of Toronto's back end missing for a little bit longer, the team provided an injury update on the 32-year-old blueliner. 

With that lower-body injury, Rielly is considered to be out "day-to-day."

Without Rielly against the Devils, a 4-0 loss, Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller thought his team handled his absence alright, considering what he brings in terms of moving the puck.

"I thought our best part of our game were our breakouts," he said on Tuesday morning. "I give Mermis and McWard a lot of credit there. They had a good night doing that. Obviously, we didn't generate enough from it going the other way. But you know, you take Rielly and Tanev. Both those are those are some pretty big minutes. So the other two, I think, did a pretty good job."

His last game came in a 4-2 loss on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. Rielly played 5:45 of that contest before exiting with the lower-body injury. 

One of his last shifts was when he was defending a 2-on-1 with Montreal's Nick Suzuki and Zachary Bolduc attacking. Suzuki fired a shot, and Rielly twisted his body. Immediately after the shot, he hobbled, and it wasn't much longer until he decided to go down the tunnel and eventually wouldn't return.

Rielly has been solid for the Maple Leafs, considering how his previous two campaigns have gone. In 18 games, he's registered 12 assists, which is the second-most on the team, only behind Auston Matthews.

Before Saturday's game, Rielly averaged 19:31 of ice time per game. That ranks the fifth-highest on the team and third among Leafs defensemen as of Nov. 6.

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