Auston Matthews' historic milestone was overshadowed by Morgan Rielly's recent defensive struggles and a mounting injury crisis, leaving the Maple Leafs in a difficult spot.
ELMONT, N.Y. — On a night when Auston Matthews became the Toronto Maple Leafs' all-time leader in goals for the franchise, the performance was marred by the fact that they twice held the lead, only to fall to the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime.
What stood out in particular was Morgan Rielly’s game. The defenseman was a -4 for the night, a difficult stat to post in a game of this nature. It wasn’t a pretty outing, and after the game, I asked Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube for his perspective on Rielly’s current play.
"Tonight was a tough one. I know that,” Berube admitted. “But he's played some really good hockey for us this year. I'm not worried about it. I think he'll get back to the level he was at. I do believe that. That's kind of where I'm at with it".
In a situation reminiscent of last season, Rielly finds himself with a team-worst plus-minus at -15. He previously finished with a team-worst -8 in the 2024-25 season. While his game stabilized after the club acquired Brandon Carlo during the 2025 NHL trade deadline back in March, there is no mistaking that Rielly’s play has dipped recently.
Against the Islanders, Rielly got a taste of what it’s like to face rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer. Schaefer danced around the veteran defenseman twice—once at 5-on-5 and again to net the overtime winner.
“He’s obviously a great skater and played very well tonight,” Rielly offered afterward.
While Berube’s comments suggest patience, he is in a difficult spot with the longest-tenured Leaf. Toronto has been battling injuries on the blue line all season, with Carlo currently out of the lineup. Additionally, Chris Tanev is out for the foreseeable future. On this night, the Leafs also took Phil Myers out of the lineup and moved Troy Stecher to the top pair alongside Rielly. That pairing shifted throughout the night as the coaching staff tried to find the right mix.
Some may call for Rielly to be scratched for a game or two, but that seems a bit too drastic given the injuries on the back end—at least right now. The situation is further complicated by Jake McCabe, who leads the team in plus-minus (+26) by a healthy margin over the next best player, Troy Stecher (+11). McCabe may now be injured after leaving the game in the third period with an undisclosed ailment.
Benching Rielly would be an extreme measure, especially considering the Leafs have picked up 10 out of a possible 12 points in their last six games. As for the overtime goal, Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll elected not to freeze the puck after an extended shift, leaving the skaters on the ice for a full 1:29 during the 3-on-3 period to end the game.
“I would have liked him to freeze it there,” Berube said regarding Woll. “The guys are tired, and I think it would have been better off freezing it. But, you know, it's a fast game and things happen fast”.
If Rielly’s game doesn’t recover beyond this contest and the roster gets healthier, the team may eventually have to consider a reset for him. However, outside of the goals against, analytically speaking, he wasn’t the worst defenseman on the Leafs at 5-on-5 on Saturday. That was actually McCabe, who recorded a 45 percent expected-goals share according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Ultimately, goals are what matter. The emotion of seeing Matthews’ celebrated accomplishment muted by a loss certainly hurts, but calls to bench Rielly immediately seem premature given the current circumstances. If his play continues to slide, the conversation may change, but the team is still a long way from that point.