Every point matters.
That was the simple message espoused by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly after a 6-5 overtime loss to the New York Islanders.
The single point vaulted Toronto past the Boston Bruins for the third spot in the Atlantic Division - both teams are level at 58 points - but the Maple Leafs have the advantage of playing four fewer games.
The eight points that could be amassed as Toronto catches up to Boston only exist in the realm of possibility at this point, Rielly told reporters after the loss to the Islanders:
The games in hand only matter if you win them. You've got to make those games and those points count. We know what the situation is with the standings, we check it pretty frequently so we know how big the points are, we know what's at stake when you're playing teams within the Eastern Conference.
Obviously tonight, going into it, we wanted to come away with two, we only came away with one, and that's not going to be good enough down the stretch. Moving forward we're going to continue to work, continue to take advantage of those games and it's important that we come away with two points more often than not.
In terms of point percentage, Toronto does indeed rank third in the Atlantic, behind Montreal and Ottawa. The Bruins have fallen to fifth, with resurgent Florida making a late push for a playoff berth.
The Maple Leafs will move even closer to Boston in games played when they host Dallas on Tuesday.
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