The Leafs and Panthers don't play again until Wednesday night, giving the Leafs a few days to try to regroup and begin the long road back from being down 3-0 in their 2nd round series. There is uncertainty about who will start in goal given Ilya Samsonov's injury in Game 3 and with Matt Murray being cleared to play. Joseph Woll's stellar play this year has also given Sheldon Keefe a lot to think about in a pivotal Game 4. Keefe is also faced with some more lineup decisions as his 11 and 7 lineup did nothing to get the Leafs back into the series in Game 3.
During media availability last week, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said that he and coaches in general are essentially just there for moral support, meaning that Keefe really can't do much at this point of the playoffs. It's up to the players to demand more of themselves and elevate their games.
"Playoffs don't usually give you enough time to change your program too much. It's why the further you get in the playoffs, the coaches become less and less important," said Maurice. It is a surprising piece of information from Maurice, where he complimented his players for essentially willing their way into knocking off the President's Trophy winning Bruins and continuing that success against the Leafs.
It also demonstrates, that maybe Sheldon Keefe has tried to do too much again and is being out-coached by a coach who isn't really coaching at all, but rather providing his players with the tools they need and just letting them play.
