The Toronto Maple Leafs currently find themselves in the midst of a three-game losing streak, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of the Minnesota Wild by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday night. This game continued a stretch of poor play from veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly, and with the number of his critics growing, Craig Berube stepped in to defend him.

Simply put, Rielly has not been nearly as impactful as Toronto is used to seeing him be. Through 51 games, Rielly has just five goals and 17 assists, and he is a team-worst -18 to this point. There's no doubt that Rielly's struggles have hurt the Maple Leafs, but Berube refused to pin the blame for the team's recent losses on him, and committed to working toward getting him back on track.

“Can Morgan play better? Yes, he can,” Berube said after the Maple Leafs 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. “We all know that. He knows that, and he's trying to work through it right now. 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.”

Craig Berube, Maple Leafs sticking by Morgan Rielly amid his struggles

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) plays the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Bell Centre.
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Rielly has failed to record a single point in Toronto's last three games, although it is worth noting that the team has scored just one goal apiece in each of those losses. If the Maple Leafs intend on going on a deep postseason run this year, they are going to need Rielly to get back on the pace he was on last season, when he racked up seven goals and 51 assists.

There's still time for Rielly to find his form, and it's not as if Toronto is in danger of losing their playoff spot, as they sit just one point behind the Florida Panthers for the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division. Berube and the Maple Leafs are going to need more from Rielly, though, and he will be looking to help his team get back in the win column when they face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.