Many credit Nylander for last night's huge win, but Keefe says it was another player who was the star in his mind

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.