Rough news for the Maple Leafs blue line. According to TSN's Mark Masters, Morgan Rielly and Chris Tanev will not play Sunday night against the
New Jersey Devils at Scotiabank Arena.
Rielly hurt with a lower-body injury
Rielly suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury Saturday against Montreal. He played only 5:45 in that game, according to the NHL API. The team is still waiting on the extent of the injury, and Rielly remains on the active roster for now.
This season, Rielly has 12 assists in 18 games with no goals and 1 power-play point.
Tanev rested
Chris Tanev, 36, is sitting out for load management. He already missed nine games this season with an upper-body issue and has played three games since returning. "We're trying to manage him a little bit," coach Jim Hiller said.
With Marshall Rifai and Nick Blankenburg also out, Dakota Mermis and Cole McWard form the third pair. Oliver Ekman-Larsson moves up to the second pair with Troy Stecher. Darren Raddysh played a season-high 29:43 on Saturday, and Hiller wants to pull him back a bit on Sunday.
Mantha hurt for the Devils
For New Jersey, Anthony Mantha has returned home after a throat injury suffered Saturday. "He is going to miss some time, we just don't know the extent of it," Sheldon Keefe said. Mantha has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 17 games. Connor Hellebuyck starts for the Devils.
What it means for poolers
With Rielly, everything hinges on the update on his injury. If you have him, watch for Monday's news before making a move. In the meantime, Raddysh is the Toronto defenceman to watch: he already has 6 power-play points and he is soaking up big minutes.
Tanev offers little in most pools, so his absence matters mostly in formats that count hits and blocked shots.
In New Jersey, Mantha's absence opens a spot in the top nine. It is a risk if you were counting on his goals, and a role worth watching to see who steps in.
Sources
The details above come from Mark Masters' reporting on TSN.ca and the TSN Hockey post on X, plus the NHL API pages for Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Anthony Mantha and Darren Raddysh.