Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe admits to orchestrating the Detroit mismatch with Red Wings head coach
The Leafs were back at it on Friday in Detroit in their second-to-last game of the preseason. While they dropped the game by a score of 4-2, they were also competing against the Red Wings' full NHL roster with their own roster being comprised primarily of AHL players, rookies and 4th liners. But, according to Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe, that was by design.
After the game, Keefe applauded the efforts of the Nick Robertson - Pontus Holmberg - Denis Malgin line, goaltender Ilya Samsonov and the play of Rasmus Sandin, who made his preseason debut, scoring a goal in the affair. Keefe also revealed that he had spoken to Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde ahead of the Friday night matchup and orchestrated the mismatch to really test his training camp competitors.
I liked [Robertson, Holmberg and Malgin]. I thought those guys were good. Again, it is a tough task with the matchup they were given. They were playing against Larkin's line pretty much all night along with Chiarot and Seider on defense. It is a tough ask for them.
We sort of did that by design with the lineup we put in. We knew Detroit was going to have a very good lineup. Derek [Lalonde] and I had discussed that well in advance of the game here tonight. Both coaches knew what to expect from the game. I was excited to see that.
I thought those guys did a really good job all throughout. There were no easy matchups tonight for any of our lines or any of our defense pairs. We have 88 games of NHL experience on the backend tonight, and they're all coming from Rasmus. And he was playing his first game of the preseason.
It was a tall order for the crew, but I thought all the way through the lineup, the guys did a good job. That includes the Holmberg line, who had the greatest challenge, and of course, they are the guys we are really looking at.
We sort of did that by design with the lineup we put in. We knew Detroit was going to have a very good lineup. Derek [Lalonde] and I had discussed that well in advance of the game here tonight. Both coaches knew what to expect from the game. I was excited to see that.
I thought those guys did a really good job all throughout. There were no easy matchups tonight for any of our lines or any of our defense pairs. We have 88 games of NHL experience on the backend tonight, and they're all coming from Rasmus. And he was playing his first game of the preseason.
It was a tall order for the crew, but I thought all the way through the lineup, the guys did a good job. That includes the Holmberg line, who had the greatest challenge, and of course, they are the guys we are really looking at.
The Buds are back at it again tonight, facing off against the same Detroit Red Wings - this time back at home in Toronto. However, the lineup we see tonight should resemble the one we'll see in the season opener this coming week.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 8 | 323 ANSWERS Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe admits to orchestrating the Detroit mismatch with Red Wings head coach Will the Leafs break their 115-point franchise record this season? | ||
| No | 153 | 47.4 % |
| Yes | 170 | 52.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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