Keefe issues a warning to his players in advance of series opener against Florida
Matthew Tkachuk is about as polarizing a player in the NHL as they come. He does a little bit of everything, but also happens to do everything well. Following practice on Monday, Sheldon Keefe was asked how the team is going to shutdown Tkachuk.
"Well, there is a lot to handle there in terms of how he plays. When I say how he plays, I mean that he's so dynamic in that he can hurt you on the rush, he can make a play, and he can score a goal. He is going to drive the net and be around the crease. He is as good as any player in the NHL behind the goal line and along the back wall. There is a lot to handle there, and then there is obviously the emotion and energy that he brings to the game. For us, it will be trying to neutralize him as much as we can in terms of his abilities to play with the puck, play on the offense, and how he really drives the team but also not get distracted � as he would like us to be � with any of the other stuff outside of the gameplay."
T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe held Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point to zero goals at 5-on-5 and the hope is that they will be able to replicate that success against Tkachuk. We'll see just how well the Leafs stay away from the after-whistle stuff as Game 1 goes tonight in Toronto.
| POLL | ||
2 MAI | 254 ANSWERS Keefe issues a warning to his players in advance of series opener against Florida Do the Florida Panthers concern you in the Leafs 2nd round series? | ||
| Yes, sneaky good opponents | 139 | 54.7 % |
| No, they're just another bump in the road | 51 | 20.1 % |
| I'm just hoping the series is called fairly | 64 | 25.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
