Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly out with lower-body injury, won’t play Tuesday vs. Devils

Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman Morgan Rielly is dealing with a lower-body injury and will not play in Tuesday’s game against the New Jsesey Devils, the team announced during warmups.

Rielly did not take part in the morning skate on Tuesday.

The top pair on the Maple Leafs’ blue line will be Jake McCabe and Timothy Liljegren. The second pair is T.J. Brodie and Ilya Lyubushkin, then Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins on the third pair.

The 30-year-old Rielly has seven goals and 44 assists for 51 points in 65 games. In 11 NHL seasons, he’s scored 80 goals and 385 assists for 465 points in 784 career games. He hit career highs in 2018-19, scoring 20 goals and 52 assists for 72 points.

Drafted No. 5 overall by Toronto in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, he has spent his entire career with the franchise. He is eighth on the Maple Leafs’ all-time assist list, third all-time in points for a defenseman, eighth in goals for defenseman and third in assists for defenseman.

Going into Tuesday’s game, the Maple Leafs are 40-21-9 with 89 points, third in the Atlantic Division. After Tuesday’s game, they will host the Washington Capitals on Thursday then head to Western New York State to face the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.