The Leafs have spent much of the season banged up, especially on the blueline, but with a 19-7-6 record and 44 points on the season, the Leafs are sitting in a good spot, deadlocked in a 4-way tie for 3rd overall in the league standings.
With how good the team has played before the latest 2-game losing skid, they may soon be getting a pretty big boost on the back end after Morgan Rielly took to the ice at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday for the first time since suffering his MCL injury back in November. It was an extremely light session for Rielly, but with an original expected return date of around 6 weeks, that puts Rielly on track for a January return.
Rielly is a minute-muncher for the Leafs and while the team has performed amicably in his absence, there's no question that they miss his presence on a nightly basis - and not just because he's a smooth-skating puck mover who has the largest workload of anyone on the team, but also because of his leadership qualities and compete level.
Rielly has yet to score a goal this season, but has notched 16 assists in 20 games so far this season. He suffered his injury in this accidental collision with New York Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri back on November 21st.
