The Leafs came out victorious with a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres last night, thanks in large to stellar goaltending and one specific change made by head coach Sheldon Keefe to the lineup about halfway through the first period. His change? He reunited Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on the first line and William Nylander with John Tavares on the second. However, there was a reason for these mid-game line shuffles.
Keefe has, at times, been criticized for not being flexible enough with his decision-making on the fly. Well, last night, he showed that there is a method to his madness and that he considers other aspects of the game when making his decisions. As a result of his decision-making, Keefe's plan to create more defense with the Matthews-Marner line and scoring chances for Nylander-Tavares worked out very well last night.
Despite questions being raised by reverting to his old offensive duos, Keefe proved his detractors wrong last night, which I'm sure had to feel good. Reading the game state is important for any head coach. It just so happens that, on this night, Keefe hypothesis was proven correct. I'm sure people will continue to criticize his decisions, but hopefully there will bit a bit more understanding that decisions are sometimes made on the fly to give the Leafs a chance to generate something. It's not always a matter of a coach being stubborn.
