Irate Keefe sends a message to the top power play unit after colossal mistake
The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their winning ways after they defeated the Winnipeg Jets on home ice by a score of 1-0. Ilya Samsonov was a brick wall in goal as he stopped 32 shots - including 4 in overtime - for his second consecutive victory.
The Maple Leafs found it difficult at times to traverse the Jets' defense especially after the first period where the shots were 16-4 for Winnipeg. However, the power play was the bigger story in this one as Sheldon Keefe benched the top unit after some suspect play in the first period.
Auston Matthews made an ill-advised line change, and the rest of the unit was caught napping as the Jets came barrelling in on a 2-on-0 break. Samsonov had to come up with 2 crucial stops, including the rebound opportunity with no Leafs jerseys in sight.
Sheldon Keefe was not pleased and the top unit felt his wrath as they did not see the ice:
"They make a mistake in that spot. It is a chance for me to hold them accountable & get some other guys involved. Those guys have been excellent for us & carried the mail a lot of times for us. Tonight, they made a mistake, and others had to get a chance"
It's tough to envision anyone benching Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly with the extra attacker and in a tied game but Keefe wanted to send a message. Keefe was irate and red to the face, yelling at the culprits while the rest of the arena - and teammates - gave Samsonov a standing ovation.
You cannot allow the opposition to barrel in on a 2-on-0 break, especially of the shorthanded variety. Marner was asked about the decision post-game:
"Obviously not good enough. We know that. We've been here for a long time. To give that (2-on-0) up, especially on a power play in a game like that, it's unacceptable."
The Leafs ended up getting the victory in overtime and were backed by the resurgent Samsonov who has looked like his former self over the past two games. Expect the power play to resume it's normal activities next game while being a little more wary of their decision making.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 25 | 507 ANSWERS Irate Keefe sends a message to the top power play unit after colossal mistake Thoughts on Sheldon Keefe benching the Leafs' top powerplay unit last night? | ||
| Loved it! | 239 | 47.1 % |
| It was dumb. We could have had multiple goals | 61 | 12 % |
| It needed to happen at the time, unfortunately | 207 | 40.8 % |
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