Berube defends Rielly amid Leafs' woes: 'It's not all on Morgan'

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube stood up for Morgan Rielly when asked about the defenseman's struggles following a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.

"Can Morgan play better? Yes, he can. We all know that. He knows that, and he's trying to work through it right now," Berube told reporters postgame. "It's a team game, it's not all on Morgan. Yes, he's a guy that we need offense from, from the back end. He's just got to stick with it, and we'll keep working at it. We'll try to help him as much as we can."

Rielly was held without a point and was a minus-2 while playing 23:31 in the loss. The previously productive blue-liner has 22 this season, including five goals, across 51 games. However, he has only two points - both assists - in his last nine contests.

The Maple Leafs lost their third straight game Wednesday and have had offensive troubles as a group of late. Toronto has mustered only three goals during the skid, falling 5-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 22 and then 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday before Wednesday's loss.

"It's a tough stretch right now with scoring, that's the bottom line, so (we've) just got to battle through it," Berube said.

"You can nitpick every little thing," the bench boss added. "Be in front of the goalie more, do this better, do that better. We're always on it, and we're looking for different ways to score, and guys that can do a better job. We've just got to stick with the plan, stick with our game, and not get off track. We'll score."

The Florida Panthers overtook the Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division by a point Wednesday with a victory over the Los Angeles Kings. However, the Leafs still lead on points percentage, holding a .608 mark compared to the Panthers' .606. Toronto has a game in hand on Florida.