Several Leafs and head coach Sheldon Keefe comment on the power play on which the top unit allowed two short-handed goals
The Leafs, for one reason or another, just can't seem to put together a winning record on many of their Western Conference road trips. Coming off of last night's loss in Vancouver, the Leafs were 1-2-0 against the Western Canadian clubs, winning only Thursday's game in Calgary, but falling to the Oilers on Wednesday and the lowly Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Last night's game wasn't as much about the Canucks beating the Leafs as it was about the Leafs beating themselves. How did they beat themselves? By allowing two shorthanded goals less than a minute apart on the same power play. The worst thing about that stretch of play was that it was the top PP unit that was responsible for both goals against.
Following the loss, captain John Tavares, top defenseman Morgan Rielly and superstar pivot Auston Matthews touched on the power play that cost the Leafs the game in a lot of ways. Sheldon Keefe chimed in as well.
"That's on us."
-John Tavares
-John Tavares
"At that point in the game, getting a power play, can't let that happen. That's on the individuals that are out there, myself, and our unit."
-Morgan Rielly
-Morgan Rielly
"We weren't on the same page. Couple bad decisions. That one power-play that they scored two goals, we dug ourselves in a hole, and it was tough to climb out of it."
-Auston Matthews
-Auston Matthews
"We had a chance to really take over the game, and we failed on that. In that case, their best players were better than ours."
-Sheldon Keefe
-Sheldon Keefe
During yesterday's Lightning/Sabres matinee, we saw Bolts head coach Jon Cooper bench the Lightning's top line for the entire third period, as Cooper just felt that the trio of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos just didn't have it in the game. When asked whether Keefe had contemplated a similar move during the game in Vancouver, the Leafs' bench boss quickly dismissed that idea.
"We're (18) seconds into a power-play in a one-goal hockey game, and we had a power-play that just tied the game for us,» Keefe replied. "So, I wasn't tempted at all."
Keefe on whether or not he thought about benching some of the players from his top power play unit after giving up two quick shorthanded goals against
Keefe on whether or not he thought about benching some of the players from his top power play unit after giving up two quick shorthanded goals against
There's still some time for the Leafs to figure some things out, as we have only just kicked off the March schedule. The Leafs also haven't had an abundance of time to practice with all 6 of their new roster additions yet, so there will be a bit of a learning curve and some pain until they can get dialed in.
Thankfully, the Leafs aren't losing too much ground on Tampa, as the Bolts have struggled mightily as of late as well.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL | ||
MARS 5 | 255 ANSWERS Several Leafs and head coach Sheldon Keefe comment on the power play on which the top unit allowed two short-handed goals Should the Leafs break up the top PP unit and spread the talent over two separate units? | ||
| Yes | 205 | 80.4 % |
| No | 50 | 19.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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