Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) makes a save as Morgan Rielly (44) and New York Islanders' Kyle Palmieri (21) look for the rebound during third period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Monday, February 5, 2024.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO - The Maple Leafs started life without Morgan Rielly on a winning note Tuesday.

The NHL suspended Toronto's No. 1 defenceman for five games before the opening faceoff against the St. Louis Blues for his cross-check to the head of Senators forward Ridly Greig in the dying moments of Ottawa's 5-3 victory Saturday.

Rielly, who was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct, lunged at Greig up high after he fired a slapshot into an empty net with 5.1 seconds left in regulation.

"This play occurs well after the goal has been scored, late in the game with the score out of reach, and for the sole purpose of retribution," the NHL's department of player safety said in a video explanation of the suspension.

Rielly, who watched Toronto beat St. Louis 4-1, will miss most of a stretch of six games in 10 days.

"It's tough," Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe said Tuesday night. "I'm not going to sit here and bitch and complain about it. It just sucks missing one of the leaders and one of your key guys.

"We got one win for here for him tonight. Hopefully we continue to carry that on."

The Senators also reacted to what became a polarizing sequence following their 6-3 home victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"The last few days have been pretty different," said Greig, who scored Tuesday's winner in the nation's capital. "A lot of texts, a lot of phone calls. It's been interesting. I've tried to stay off-line the last couple of days. Everybody is going to have an opinion on it, and probably they're either going to love it or hate it. Doesn't matter to me."

"I don't think you're ever expecting a guy to come cross-check you in the face," the 21-year-old added. "But I'm also not sure if he meant to do that."

Rielly, 29, will be available to return Feb. 22 when the Leafs visit the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

Toronto entered Tuesday holding down the East's No. 1 wild-card slot, tied on points with the Detroit Red Wings, and four points ahead of the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.

Rielly's suspension isn't the longest of the NHL season. Detroit forward David Perron was suspended six games in December for a cross-check on Senators defenceman Artem Zub.

Toronto went 14-2-1 without Rielly in the lineup last season.

"You didn't really know what to expect going into it," Leafs defenceman T.J. Brodie, Rielly's usual partner on the team's top pair, said after the victory over St. Louis.

"It sucks for us to lose him for that amount of time."

— With files from Darren Desaulniers in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2024.

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