Morgan Rielly Puts Pressure On Mitch Marner Ahead Of Game 5

As the Maple Leafs took to the ice for practice on Monday morning, the team was without Auston Matthews as the captain was taking an extra day to rest up and make sure he's fully prepared for anything that Game 5 is going to throw at him and the rest of the team.

So it was the other stars who had to lead during practice, one that saw John Tavares skating after some concerns about his health after an elbow to the head. But it was towards the end of the skate that Morgan Rielly decided to do something a bit bold.

Rielly chatted briefly with Mitch Marner before essentially shoving him into the middle to lead the stretches.

While it seems insignificant to many, it has an underlying connotation to it: The team trusts Marner.

Normally, stretches are reserved for the captain, or potentially a veteran like Tavares or Rielly, but it looks like the team is trying to give their star forward a taste of leadership and anoint him as the de facto rink general; all east during practice.

Perhaps it's a bit of a confidence boost for Marner, who can see that while he's been great this season, has an air of questionability surrounding his ability to close things out and got a bit of criticism for his performance in Game 4.

Rielly or Tavares easily could have been the one to lead the stretches, but the fact they pegged Marner to lead means that not only do they think he has the ability to lead them through the first round, but that he's the #2 after Matthews; a testament to his superb season.

Breaking the 100-point threshold for the first time in his career, Marner has been lights out since the first game of the season, and his play translated fantastically so far in the playoffs.

He has seven points in four games, and while he's been a playmaking machine for guys like Matthew Knies, he needs to start scoring a bit more.

He's got a lethal shot, and while those one-touch passes are a thing of beauty, if he's got a chance to shoot he needs to; he can't fall back into old habits.

But knowing the team is behind him 100%, and trusting him to take the reins when they need it the most should pay off handsomely for Marner and therefore the Maple Leafs in kind.

Let's just hope he can shoulder the chip placed firmly on him since the playoffs began.