In fact, it only became a regular occurrence when Nikita Zaitsev (the Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd PP unit quarterback) went down with an injury that Rielly saw regular, sustained time on the man-advantage.
Rielly saw less than a minute of powerplay time per game last season, a stark contrast to the times of Jake Gardiner (2:35) and Nikita Zaitsev (2:04). His powerplay minutes dropped over 50% between the 2015-16 season and the 2016-17 season.
Mike Babcock used Rielly to quarterback the powerplay last night since neither of the Leafs go-to powerplay defensemen were playing.
Powerplay Success
On the backs of Rielly, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander, the Leafs went 2-for-5 on the powerplay.