Sheldon Keefe and Ryan O'Reilly reveal what the Leafs' plan is to attempt to change their fate against Florida
As the Leafs prepare for Game 5 tonight in Toronto, there is a lot on the line. Everything, in fact. Their playoff lives, for one, but also the jobs of Sheldon Keefe, Kyle Dubas, Brendan Shanahan and a number of others, I'm sure. There could even be several members of the team jettisoned if they fail to put up a fight and make a series out of their matchup with the Florida Panthers, who nearly missed the playoffs entirely.
The Buds were at a 3-0 deficit heading into Game 4, but thanks to a quality outing from rookie Joseph Woll, as well as a total team commitment to playing smart, composed, two-way hockey, the Buds were able to extend the series to at least 5 games, but hopefully more.
On Thursday, both Ryan O'Reilly and head coach Sheldon Keefe commented on how the Leafs are dealing with all of the pressure. Surprisingly, the thought process in the locker room is that the pressure is all on the Panthers to close it out. For the Leafs, it's more about continuing to push to try to build momentum and plant seeds of doubts in the Panthers' minds. Here's what O'Reilly and Keefe had to say:
O'Reilly: "We're fighting for our lives & the pressure is on them. We have nothing to lose & the way we played was like that. Everyone did whatever they possibly could to win that game & we'll need to up that again if we want to get this next one."
Keefe: "We want to build positive momentum. I believe we've done that. Now you need to be able to maintain it & look to make them uncomfortable. We get one more & then it's coming back to Florida & then things perhaps shift a little bit in terms of pressure"
If the Leafs can pull off a huge home win and send this series back to Florida for Game 6, you can certainly make an argument that the momentum will belong to the Leafs. Having already taken 1 game in Florida and 3 games from Tampa on the road, they've shown that they are more than capable of stealing games in enemy territory. With the Panthers knowing that, the seeds of doubt will have already been planted. If the Leafs can then win Game 6 in Florida, sending the series back to Toronto for the final and deciding Game 7 having already swayed the momentum in their favour, the Panthers could be in real trouble. However, it all starts with Game 5 tonight. If the Buds don't bring the same effort that they did for Game 4, they could be in real trouble.
| POLL | ||
MAI 12 | 690 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe and Ryan O'Reilly reveal what the Leafs' plan is to attempt to change their fate against Florida Will the Leafs win tonight and force a Game 6 back in Florida? | ||
| Yes | 500 | 72.5 % |
| No | 190 | 27.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
