Sheldon Keefe blames Leafs defense for early season struggles
The Leafs lost their second in a row to an inferior opponent, a 4-3 overtime loss to San Jose mere days after a 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Leafs were down 3-1 at one point, so the silver-lining is that they battled back to tie it and collect a loser point. While it looks like the Leafs are struggling out of the gate going 4-3-1, they started 2-5-1 last season and went on to post record numbers across the board with several players having career years - just as a reminder.
After last night's overtime loss, Sheldon Keefe said it wasn't the forwards to blame for the Leafs' early season struggles. Keefe believes it is actually the defense causing most of the issues. Keefe called out the blueliners saying, "Starts with the D. Their touches. Their first touch has to be better."
Being unable to make a clean first pass is what has haunted the Leafs this season and it's clearly evident. It's what lead to the first Vegas goal Monday night. Keefe also said changing the pairings won't solve the issue and the forwards are not to blame for the issue. Which is a fair thing to say as the forwards are going to where they expect the puck to go but more often than not the pass is a bad one that bounces or is picked off. It's certainly something the blueline needs to correct and correct quickly. The Leafs can only hope that the return of Timothy Liljegren in the near future will help with that issue.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 28 | 466 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe blames Leafs defense for early season struggles Do you agree with Sheldon Keefe that the defense is the Leafs' main issue? | ||
| Yes | 148 | 31.8 % |
| No, it's the star forwards not taking over games | 51 | 10.9 % |
| No, it's a mix of things | 207 | 44.4 % |
| Trading Justin Holl solves everything | 60 | 12.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
