In the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night, Rielly found himself tangled with Buffalo forward William Carrier. Leading to a collision and ultimately resulting in the 22-year-old’s exit from the game.
Already thin on the defense, Rielly’s injury will cause for others on the blueline to slot up. Although they managed to defeat Buffalo, Toronto must rely on Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev.
It will take a team effort to overcome the loss of Rielly. However, barring any major trade, those two must be the catalyst on the blueline.
This season Zaitsev has enjoyed a stellar rookie season while playing on the top pair.