The Toronto Maple Leafs held a practice on Monday in preparation for their evening matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and with it came another shake-up on defense. Morgan Rielly, who has spent much of the past month skating alongside Philippe Myers,

Over the last three games, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has tried to change things up by placing reliable defender Jake McCabe on the right side of Rielly in an effort to help ignite Rielly's offensive game. Has it worked?

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ new defensive structure worked well in the club’s 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Specifically, Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe formed a new pairing on the blueline that left all parties leaving Scotiabank Arena feeling promising.

Rielly has two points in his last 11 games with Toronto and admitted after Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Minnesota that he needs to be better.

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has given his take on how the season has played out so far, and even among the negatives he's taking things in stride.

“We all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform,” said Rielly, who lost a battle behind his net that led to Minnesota’s first goal. “We’re all striving to be the best we can be. When it’s not going your way, you do everything you can to change that. It starts with hard work and being a good teammate.”

Fraser Minten will play for the Leafs for the first time since Dec. 14 and will centre a line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson on the wings. “I like the player,” Berube said in reference to Minten. “Patches went out, he’s a guy who has played up here and he’s a smart player, we put him in the middle of the ice. I have trust in him.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs' decision to demote defenseman Morgan Rielly has led to even better results than anyone could have imagined. Heading into Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens, it was already becoming pretty clear that Morgan Rielly was no longer the Maple Leafs' top defenseman.

NHL insider Chris Johnston recently spoke about the importance of Jake McCabe to the Toronto Maple Leafs. While trade rumors swirl around Morgan Rielly, Johnston talked about McCabe’s strong play and steady presence on the team’s blue line.

Morgan Rielly, who has spent much of the past month skating alongside Philippe Myers, found himself paired with Jake McCabe at the morning skate. #Leafs lines at morning skate Jan. 20/25 Knies ...

Morgan Rielly is used to contributing with the puck on his stick. The Maple Leafs defenceman had a career-high 68 points a couple of years back and chipped in another 58 last season as part of a well-oiled attack.

Jared Spurgeon and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the first period, Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.