Morgan Rielly and the Power Play.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Idk why people are complaining about Rielly on the PP. All of last year we were were saying how Rielly isn't on the pp enough, and defending him on the main boards saying he needs more pp time and he will get more points. Now he's finally getting some time good time on the pp and people are complaining how he hasn't been good or doesn't have a bomb whereas Zaits and Gards mostly do.....

Give him some time it's been 5 games, he will adjust. He doesn't have a bomb, but he has a decent wrister just needs to get it on net more. He can move the puck great(zone entry and passing), he will be fine. Gonna contradict myself here but even in the 5 games he has 3 ppp (all assists) gards has only 1 ppp (goal).

Gards is playing almost 5 mins a game on the pp thus far
Rielly 4:13 a game.


Just have patience and believe in 44.

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[Crease Master]

My issue with Reilly on the power play isn't that he doesn't have a bomb, although that would be ideal. My issue is that whenever he does shoot, regardless of the situation his ability to shoot in an effective manner is incredibly weak. His shots either zing into the goalie's crest or miss the net completely, that's when he doesn't get his shot blocked which happens with an alarming frequency. He just doesn't have it on the powerplay, Rosen or Zeitsev are better suited for the job. Seriously, how many golden shooting opportunities do we have to see Reilly put into a goalies chest before we get the hint? Our power play is decent despite him because the down low portion is exceptional. If we could add the threat at the point, it would be lethal.

 

[Apotheosis]

It's funny how Gards has more PP time yet Rielly has more points. Rielly moves the puck better and Gardiner has a better shot. If Rielly manages to improve his accuracy and simply get the puck on net, he'll have a PP stretch where he racks up a lot of points.

 

[firstemperor]

Yea Rielly misses the net way too much....which is exacerbated by his lack of power on his shot.

I don't mind him on the PP, he moves the puck well and is great at rushing it/the initial entry. My issue is with playing him on the same unit as Bozak/Marner....you have 3 guys on the perimeter that are not a threat to shoot at all. Teams have probably gameplanned the fact we like to throw pucks to the net/up the middle now...we need a more dynamic PP. The only viable option is to switch Gardiner/Rielly or add in Zaits for Rielly.....as the Bozak/Marner/JVR unit can't and probably won't get split.

 

[MR4]

I think it'd be better to put Gardiner with PP2 and Rielly on PP1, due to the lack of shooters on #2 and abundance on #1

 

[Apotheosis]

^

The above is correct. Gardiner can put the puck on net for guys like Kadri and JVR on that unit, whereas Rielly would do well in creating space to set up Matthews/Nylander for one timers.

 

[harvestglen]

He's a smooth skater and, when it hits, has a nice wrister, but I have not been very impressed with his offensive instincts this season thus far. The puck seems to die with him unless there is a clear option available.

 

[mapleleaf979]

^

The above is correct. Gardiner can put the puck on net for guys like Kadri and JVR on that unit, whereas Rielly would do well in creating space to set up Matthews/Nylander for one timers.

U are both wrong. U can not put Reilly on the #1 PP unit. Gardiner is much better than Reilly on the PP. Bottom line, Reilly kind of drags that PP unit down, he hesitates and makes poor decisions with the puck. Reilly does not make plays. Gardiner can make elite hockey plays and then be completely out to lunch. But he is dangerous with the puck on his stick, unpredictable and confident on the PP.

Ive said this before but the Leafs should be exploring a Reilly trade, they have an abundance on the Left side. His instincts are poor, his hockey IQ is average, he isnt confident enough to make plays because of this Im convinced his hockey ceiling is limited. He is a good d-man but moving a JVR and Reilly to bring something back who is better than Reilly and right handed would help this team.

 

[Lightsol]

U are both wrong. U can not put Reilly on the #1 PP unit. Gardiner is much better than Reilly on the PP. Bottom line, Reilly kind of drags that PP unit down, he hesitates and makes poor decisions with the puck. Reilly does not make plays. Gardiner can make elite hockey plays and then be completely out to lunch. But he is dangerous with the puck on his stick, unpredictable and confident on the PP.

Ive said this before but the Leafs should be exploring a Reilly trade, they have an abundance on the Left side. His instincts are poor, his hockey IQ is average, he isnt confident enough to make plays because of this Im convinced his hockey ceiling is limited. He is a good d-man but moving a JVR and Reilly to bring something back who is better than Reilly and right handed would help this team.

mapleleaf979, about 10 years ago: "Hey, we should totally trade Tomas Kaberle and build our entire defense around Bryan McCabe!"

 

[mapleleaf979]

He's a smooth skater and, when it hits, has a nice wrister, but I have not been very impressed with his offensive instincts this season thus far. The puck seems to die with him unless there is a clear option available.

Agreed. His defensive instincts are just as poor. He is directly at fault for at least one goal a game. Tonight he forced the puck to the right side of the ice into a pressure situation, that started a series of errors.

 

[stickty111]

U are both wrong. U can not put Reilly on the #1 PP unit. Gardiner is much better than Reilly on the PP. Bottom line, Reilly kind of drags that PP unit down, he hesitates and makes poor decisions with the puck. Reilly does not make plays. Gardiner can make elite hockey plays and then be completely out to lunch. But he is dangerous with the puck on his stick, unpredictable and confident on the PP.

Ive said this before but the Leafs should be exploring a Reilly trade, they have an abundance on the Left side. His instincts are poor, his hockey IQ is average, he isnt confident enough to make plays because of this Im convinced his hockey ceiling is limited. He is a good d-man but moving a JVR and Reilly to bring something back who is better than Reilly and right handed would help this team.

Good thing your not the GM. Oh wait didnt you also say that Nylander was lazy and all. Probably shouldnt take your opinion seriously.
Rielly is a solid player and part of the core

 

[Brock Radunske]

Rielly hasn't looked good this year. I'm not sure he's a top pairing guy on a competitive team.
Gotta hope DD or Carlson hit free agency.

 

[bunjay]

Rielly needs to learn to look off his intended target. I feel like he's too predictable. His lack of a dangerous shot doesn't bother me so much because this is a skill powerplay the Leafs have now, not a "put it on net at every opportunity and hope it finds it's way in" type of PP.

Gardiner's strength with the puck is disguising where he's going with it. He fools people. Sometimes he fools himself, but the point still stands.

 

[Cor]

It's still too early to take Rielly off the PP. We have to remember that this is the first time he's playing regular PP time under Babcock, so it's been awhile.

However, here's a crazy idea; Put Marner beside Borgman. Marner will be the QB, but having Borgman's shot on the PP is something we haven't had since Dion. Though even Dion doesn't have the accuracy Borg has.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I don't like him as a QB once we are set up in the ozone, everything else is ok.

 

[ToneDog]

Let's see what we have in Morgan after 20 games or so.

 

[zeke]

Rielly is our best PP point man by a good margin.

Last year plus this year PP points per 60min:

Rielly 5.40
Zaitsev 4.06
Gardiner 3.42

and he already has 3 pp pts this year in 5gms.

 

[weems]

Rielly is our best PP point man by a good margin.

Last year plus this year PP points per 60min:

Rielly 5.40
Zaitsev 4.06
Gardiner 3.42

and he already has 3 pp pts this year in 5gms.

Interesting.
It woud interesting if this was looked into further. Why does Rielly have the best PP/60? I mean lets be honest his shot is underwhelming. I would say of all the 3 Gardiner has the best combination of shot and ability to make plays. Is Rielly such a effective PP/60 because he's such an elite skater and can effectively gain zone entry whenever he wants? He gets the puck into the O zone so quick and effectively/often that he gives so much additional zone time for our offense. The 2nd unit does alot more dropping the puck back and entering the zone with a Nylander burst or pass to Matthews going down the wing.

The one problem I have with Rielly as the guy on the #1 group is when teams start to heavily scout our PP.
When you have a blueliner on the PP who really isnt a threat to shoot, The opposing teams box can collapse down and take away room for the skilled players to make plays. Kind of similar to basketball in the halfcourt when theres one player who cant shoot and they just sag down and clog the scoring area. You want your PP to be as optimal as possible and not sure if having someone whos pretty limited shot wise is the best thing. It will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out the entire season and if the PP stays elite or hovers in the middle.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Good thing your not the GM. Oh wait didnt you also say that Nylander was lazy and all. Probably shouldnt take your opinion seriously.
Rielly is a solid player and part of the core

Correct. Nylander was lazy for the first 2.5 years of being a Maple Leaf. He changed his ways.

U aren't seeing things I see, plain and simple. Reilly can not maximize the drop pass play on the PP. His timing is off and he is telegraphing his decisions. Its only a matter of time before that play is picked off. Vs Chicago he had a soft drop pass that was almost picked off. Gardiner on the other hand can read who is cheating and anticipating the drop pass and can scatter the D by improvising.

 

[Barilko14]

Correct. Nylander was lazy for the first 2.5 years of being a Maple Leaf. He changed his ways.

U aren't seeing things I see, plain and simple. Reilly can not maximize the drop pass play on the PP. His timing is off and he is telegraphing his decisions. Its only a matter of time before that play is picked off. Vs Chicago he had a soft drop pass that was almost picked off. Gardiner on the other hand can read who is cheating and anticipating the drop pass and can scatter the D by improvising.

And Gardiner never makes mistakes?

Hard to take your opinion seriously when your bias is so obvious.

Do we really need several dynamic risky dmen on the blueline with the forwards we have?

 

[The CyNick]

Rielly should probably take the time to clean up his five on five play. Early on in the season he's worst on the team at dash 4. Not a good sign for the player.

And I believe he's 4th on ice time. Hey look he's in that 4-5 D range. Interesting.

 

[cannucky]

bween saying for years he lacks the ability to okay basic D , he pushes the rusher wide then instead of cutting him off and finishing him in the corner he waves his stick at him 1 handed and gives him the turn letting him wheel and set up if his partner doesn't cut him off .Basic D , angle out , angle off .

 

[Grandrift145]

U are both wrong. U can not put Reilly on the #1 PP unit. Gardiner is much better than Reilly on the PP. Bottom line, Reilly kind of drags that PP unit down, he hesitates and makes poor decisions with the puck. Reilly does not make plays. Gardiner can make elite hockey plays and then be completely out to lunch. But he is dangerous with the puck on his stick, unpredictable and confident on the PP.

Ive said this before but the Leafs should be exploring a Reilly trade, they have an abundance on the Left side. His instincts are poor, his hockey IQ is average, he isnt confident enough to make plays because of this Im convinced his hockey ceiling is limited. He is a good d-man but moving a JVR and Reilly to bring something back who is better than Reilly and right handed would help this team.

I agree with everything you said about Reilly except for trading him.

 

[saltming]

My issue with Reilly on the power play isn't that he doesn't have a bomb, although that would be ideal. My issue is that whenever he does shoot, regardless of the situation his ability to shoot in an effective manner is incredibly weak. His shots either zing into the goalie's crest or miss the net completely, that's when he doesn't get his shot blocked which happens with an alarming frequency. He just doesn't have it on the powerplay, Rosen or Zeitsev are better suited for the job. Seriously, how many golden shooting opportunities do we have to see Reilly put into a goalies chest before we get the hint? Our power play is decent despite him because the down low portion is exceptional. If we could add the threat at the point, it would be lethal.

The slapper from the point is becoming a thing of the past or the very elite. As a matter of fact the panel on Saturday was challenging people to find goals from slap shots so far this year.
Quick accurate and on net is what's needed.

 

[Shanty]

The slapper from the point is becoming a thing of the past or the very elite. As a matter of fact the panel on Saturday was challenging people to find goals from slap shots so far this year.
Quick accurate and on net is what's needed.

I think the McCabe - Kaberle connection is still too fresh in some people's minds. It's not 2003 anymore, tactics change. Rielly has been okay so far, and can improve with more PP icetime.

Does no one remember he and Gardiner both going into beast-mode in the playoffs?