Keefe publicly slams his team after loss to lowly Blue Jackets
You can't win every game but the compete level and the drive has to be present and tonight's loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets was a tough one to swallow for Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Toronto entered tonight's tilt with a 32-13-8 record, which was good for second in the Atlantic Division and third in the NHL but after a disappointing loss to the last place Blue Jackets, it has allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to inch closer to home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs - 2 points behind the Leafs with 2 games in hand.
The Maple Leafs defeated the very same Blue Jackets team on Friday night in Columbus by a score of 3-0 but it was a lot closer than the score dictated. Ilya Samsonov was brilliant as he stopped all 30 shots thrown his way, the Maple Leafs peppered Joonas Korpisalo with 41 shots, and they took the game away with 2 goals in less than minute midway through the third period.
Tonight with Joseph Woll in net, the Leafs were outshot 40-29 and blew a 2-0 lead by allowing Columbus to score 3 unanswered in the 2nd period. Morgan Rielly tied it early in the third period, but Kent Johnson re-took the lead 4 minutes later, and the Leafs were never able to recover.
They outshot the Blue Jackets 11-4 in the first period but were then outshot 36-18 in the final 2 periods, including 15-8 in the final frame on home ice and while trailing. After the game, Keefe was displeased by the lack of effort and competitiveness in the defeat and was quoted as saying, "I can't do the work for them."
William Nylander scored a goal and recorded an assist, Mitch Marner recorded 2 assists, but received little to no help from the rest of the cast including captain, John Tavares, who didn't record a shot on goal. Auston Matthews also missed his 5th consecutive game.
It was just one loss in an otherwise brilliant season but this was a game they should've had with the Blue Jackets toiling at the bottom of the standings and while holding onto an early 2-0 lead on home ice.
| POLL | ||
12 FEVRIER | 400 ANSWERS Keefe publicly slams his team after loss to lowly Blue Jackets Should Keefe bench players more often to send a message to the rest of the locker room? | ||
| Yes | 314 | 78.5 % |
| No | 19 | 4.8 % |
| Depends on the situation | 67 | 16.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
