Many credit Nylander for last night's huge win, but Keefe says it was another player who was the star in his mind
The Leafs fell asleep during the first period against the Islanders last night, as much of the league does when they play the classic Lou Lamoriello trap team. They were outshot 13-6 in the first period and took almost half a period to register their first shot on goal.
After a horrible first period, Sheldon Keefe swapped Mitch Marner and William Nylander to begin the second in the hopes that it would help give the team a spark, and it did, leading to a 4-goal period - all four of which Nylander had his finger prints on - to help the Leafs to a 5-2 win over the Isles.
"For us to flip the game like that (after the first period), it's going to take a significant effort. The players have to be in the right frame of mind to be able to do that, and I was really impressed with our team's ability to bounce back," commented Keefe on how the team was able to change the momentum in the second period.
Many people watching last night's game would look at the points seeing that Nylander had a 4-point period and assume that he is the reason the Leafs turned the game around. However, Keefe saw it differently. "I thought the second period was the best period John Tavares has played all season. I thought that got Willie going. Willie finished the chances and Willie was good, but I thought JT was excellent. He led us in the second period."
There have been games where Tavares has looked good, at least through a TV screen, but for Keefe to say it was his best period of the season is certainly saying something considering he has played much better this season than last.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 24 | 386 ANSWERS Many credit Nylander for last night's huge win, but Keefe says it was another player who was the star in his mind Who was the star of last night's win over the Islanders? | ||
| William Nylander | 250 | 64.8 % |
| John Tavares | 65 | 16.8 % |
| Ilya Samsonov | 68 | 17.6 % |
| Other | 3 | 0.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
