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Rielly knows that he can’t mentally get ahead of himself each time the group gets set up.

“Naz is really good at playing his position in the middle and Matthews and Marner are elite on the half-wall and at the same time, Babs wants me to be able shoot the puck when JT is in front,” Rielly said. “It’s a balance and you have to find what works and roll with it. And for me, it’s important to not try to do too much.”

The Leafs had scored seven power-play goals on 23 opportunities prior to the club’s final pre-season game against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night. Of those, Tavares had two, with Matthews and Kadri scoring one each. Toronto’s 30.4% success rate with a man advantage was good for sixth in the NHL in pre-season games through Friday, but after finishing second overall last season, getting to first and staying there is a focus for the two units.

Rielly and the other power-play members will get a shot to make improvements when the Leafs practise on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for the regular-season opener on Wednesday versus the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena.

Curtis McElhinney, for one, doesn’t envy what opposing goalies might be thinking when their team becomes shorthanded.

“It’s pretty intimidating,” McElhinney said of Rielly-Tavares-Marner-Matthews-Kadri group. “It’s one of those things where you are trying to check off all the options and with those five on the ice, there is quite a few of them. You’re just hoping your defence and forwards are trying to take away those back-door passes and clear away rebounds when they are there.”

And maybe say a little prayer as well?

“Pretty much, yeah,” McElhinney said. “You watch some of the highlights (from Friday) night and it seems like there are great shots coming from anywhere.

“You just kind of hope for the best that maybe they miss the net, more than anything.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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