he ranks fourth in team scoring – has been an added presence for the Leafs on what was an awful penalty kill a year ago – now up to 84.3 per cent. As for the points, Komarov would say only this, “I’m just trying to do my best for the team, I don’t really care about the points.” 2. Komarov II Cody Franson offered a revealing observation off Komarov off the ice. Cheap Kings Jerseys. “He’s still the world’s most interesting man,” Franson said. “He’s a great piece in our room. He’s a guy that everybody likes being around. He keeps the mood light when he’s not even trying to. He’s a great fit for our team all the way around.” Added Carlyle, “He has a little bit of a different sense of humour being that he speaks five different languages and he mumbles in all of them. He’s just a funny guy and a good guy to be around and he plays hard for his teammates.” Komarov also had eight hits and won all six faceoffs versus New York. 3. Rielly Return Scratched earlier in the week, Morgan Rielly was back in the Toronto lineup Saturday, totaling exactly 18 minutes against New York. “That’s what happens sometimes,” he said of the situation pre-game, visibly and admittedly displeased with the decision. “Obviously, you don’t want to be a healthy scratch, you want to always be able to play the game and help your team, but sometimes that happens and you just have to deal with it and try to bounce back from it.” Carlyle stressed that the 20-year-old needed to exploit his skating ability more often. “That’s one of the things in today’s hockey with the freedom and the ability that these players have nowadays, skating is so much more important,” Carlyle said. “Position and getting body position through skating and not being non-active in that area is an area in which young players have to figure out and understand. It’s as simple as taking two strides to provide some form of screen or body position so your partner has another half-a-second to retrieve a puck. It’s stuff like that that we’re asking of these guys to grasp and young players don’t normally look at it that way.” Rielly was scratched nine times as a rookie, but not once after December 8. “I know that I’m able to play better,” the sophomore said, “and he (Carlyle) knows I am too.” 4. Shooting More One target for improvement for the Maple Leafs youngest player was shooting the puck more often than he had as a rookie. And so far, Rielly has done just that. On pace for more than 200 shots – a threshold only five NHL defenders eclipsed last season – he is first among Leaf defencemen in that category and fourth overall. “I think I’ve just been trying to get the puck on net a bit more, trying to create rebounds and scrambles at the net,’ Rielly said. “I think I knew that I could shoot more this year and try to create more opportunities and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’ve gotten a lot more chances to do that, I think, this year than last year, but it’s just a matter of trying to keep doing it and just try to get your point shots through to the net.” Rielly, who has one goal and three assists to date, had only 96 shots in 73 games last season, scoring twice. 5. More Youth and Young D In poor position to receive a pass from Stephane Robidas late in the second period, Jake Gardiner had the puck bounce off his skate and right to former Leaf Dominic Moore, who promptly found Carl Hagelin for the Rangers game-tying third goal. The 24-year-old later pinched in the offensive zone, setting up Komarov for the game-winner “Tonight’s game is another prime example of a young player,” Carlyle said with a chuckle. “One positive, one negative … He made a difference in the end and when it counted.” Gardiner, who was forced to leave Thursday’s game in Colorado with a bruised left knee, returned to play just under 17 minutes against New York. Bonus Point Sidelined Joining David Booth, Brandon Kozun and Joffrey Lupul on the injured shelf was Daniel Winnik, sidelined Saturday following a thunderous collision in Denver on Thursday that appeared to knock him briefly unconscious. Carlyle, who said Winnik was “100 per cent fine” after the 3-2 shootout loss to the Avalanche, wouldn’t specify whether the 29-year-old was suffering from any concussion symptoms, but did say that the team was following the league’s concussion protocol. “It looked like he was [unconscious] for a bit,” Carlyle said, “so that’s all part of the process, that they do the evaluation and they create a time-frame before he’s able to come and join our hockey club.” TSN’s Darren Dreger later reported that Winnik passed all of the protocol associated with suspected concussions, but was held out Saturday as a precaution. Under league protocol, Winnik would’ve been tested while at rest and, if he showed no concussion symptoms there, then again after some form of exertion. His test results would be compared with the results of testing done during training camp to determine if he was ready to play. It’s unclear if he will indeed play Sunday in Ottawa. Stats-Pack 6-games – Point streak for Phil Kessel, who has four goals and 11 points in that span. 33 – Shots for Morgan Rielly this season, fourth most on the Leafs. 6-20 – Toronto power-play in the past six games. 8 – Hits for Leo Komarov against the Rangers. 13-19 – Faceoff mark for Nazem Kadri against the Rangers. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2 Season: 21.6% PK: 2-2 Season: 84.3% Quote of the Night “He has a little bit of a different sense of humour being that he speaks five different languages and he mumbles in all of them.” -Randy Carlyle, on Leo Komarov. Up Next The Leafs play the Senators in Ottawa on Sunday at 6pm, making up the game earlier this month that was postponed because of tragedy in the nation’s capital. ' ' '