Toronto Maple Leafs Continue Record Start with 5-3 Victory over the Red Wings

Last night’s hockey game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Red Wings saw Leafs defencemen Morgan Rielly became the first NHL defencemen to score twelve or more points in the first five games of a season in nearly 100 years.

It is not common for defencemen to be among the top scorers at any time in the NHL, let alone the first five games, and most thought it would not continue for long, that is until he got one more.

Last night’s game saw the Leafs defencemen scoring once and earning one assist to add to his impressive start this season at the Little Caesars Arena against the Detroit Red Wings and helped lead the Maple Leafs to a 5-3 victory against the Red Wings.

Mitch Marner is more than impressed with Rielly’s achievements but it one that the defencemen is not interested in discussing the trivia of his accomplishment. The NHL has not seen a defencemen since the 1917-1918 season have a better start to his season since Harry Cameron, not even Bobby Orr can make that claim.

While speaking with reporters post-game last night, Rielly said he was not probably going to talk about it. He added,

“ “Really, it’s not that important. I think it’s important that we move on. There’s lot of things going on with this team to be proud of when it comes to wins or when it comes to new players playing really well. The penalty kill was really good and there’s lots of things to talk about and I’m not really going to address personal stuff.”

Sportsnet

Some would say however that it comes down to superstition as on Thursday he compared his start to that of a baseball hitter on a hot streak indicating that luck played a part with his earned assist when Detroit pulled their goalie. Commenting, the star defencemen said,

“You kind of take it with a grain of salt a little bit. You want to keep rolling, you want to play well, but I don’t think it’s all that sustainable. We’ll see.”

When you consider the Leafs history, this year’s start almost looks like a circus sideshow. Collectively the Leafs have racked up twenty-five goals against five teams. That equates to an average of five goals per game, not bad for a team that failed to make it to the post-season last year. It is expected that the streak will come to an end when they face the Washington Capitals on Saturday, but with the Leafs momentum, the naysayers may find be proven wrong.

John Tavares and Austin Matthews also have had blistering starts this year. Matthews has racked up nine goals and three assists so far and has scored in all five games played so far, scoring two against the Red Wings last night.

Even Detroit defencemen Niklas Kronwall commented that Rielly’s stats speak for themselves adding,

“The stuff that he can do, the goals that he scores, how he’s able to shoot the puck, it’s not every year that someone comes around where you go ‘Wow, this is pretty special.’ You see Connor McDavid and Matthews in the same way. I think he’s a pretty unique player, to be honest with you because he’s so fast as well. And that release. It’s not often you see someone have all those tools combined.”

Toronto is well-prepared for the season ahead, and with star players like Matthews and John Tavares, the early momentum could become the standard. While Tavares, Matthews and Reilly have been on fire, other top scorers for the Leafs like Patrick Marleau and Nazem Kadri are scoreless, but with all they offer, it means they have plenty to give as the season progresses.

Toronto’s coach, Mike Babcock feels the team has the tools to be number 1 on the blue line. Commenting, he mentioned that is a hard league to be a defencemen adding that.

“We’ve got good offensive players up front and Morgan can pass and really skate. … Mo has confidence, no one gives it to you, you’ve got to earn it. I think he earned a lot last year and he’s really come on again this year. He feels like every night he goes out there he can do something.”

Toronto will next face off against last year’s Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals before returning home on Monday to play host to the Los Angeles Kings. As the season heats up, hockey betters keen on getting in on the action will be pleased to learn that many leading hockey sports betting sites are Canadian friendly. One such bookmaker is Bodog, and with up to $200 available for newly depositing players, it is one season that could see Leafs fans on top of the proverbial world of hockey.