Sheldon Keefe's comments about the Leafs' 4th line are actually quite surprising
The Maple Leafs are looking to find consistency on a nightly basis, after their rollercoaster season leading up to the holiday break. The fourth line may be to key to this.
One of the bright spots in their recent stretch of games has been the play of their fourth line. Despite the team, as a whole, giving up many turnovers and bad clearing attempts that have led to goals against, the fourth line of Noah Gregor, David Kämpf, and Bobby McMann have shown some glimpses of consistency as a unit.
Following the team's blowout loss to Buffalo on Thursday, one thing stood out for Sheldon Keefe, that he shared with the media on Friday - the play of McMann, in specific:
His line, in particular, was a real standout for us in that first period in Buffalo. They really came on for us. Some of the best clips that we showed our group yesterday were that line doing work and showing how effective it was.
We need more of that type of play from all of our lines. When they are skating, forechecking, and working like that away from the puck, our more talented offensive lines are going to be able to really thrive.
Bobby is skating. He is on the puck. I have found a couple of things when he was on the ice for a couple of goals against that I didn't like the other night. To me, it is in some ways a byproduct of him giving so much energy into his shifts early � and he needs to; he is on top of the puck � but late in his shift, he looks tired and is starting to make some mistakes. To me, it is about maintaining that level of play and finding the right time to get off the ice and hand it off to others."
It's no surprise that since Ryan Reaves has been sidelined, the fourth line has been a solid line to keep the energy levels up on the bench for the top nine. Kämpf is winning about half of his draws, many of them are defensive zone face-offs that are tougher assignments. This has allowed the players on the ice to transition into the neutral zone smoothly and make better line changes. His wingers are providing him with speed and tenacity, allowing the fourth line to be aggressive on the forecheck and move up the ice with confidence, which has led to many turnovers by their opponents, and has led to some offensive contributions from our fourth line.
They also haven't been afraid to get dirty in the corners, fighting to win puck battles, and keeping the puck in the offensive zone for the next line to come on and keep the opposing team hemmed in the zone. The fourth line isn't shying away from doing all of the little things that make a line difficult to play against. They are making other teams pay, playing physical in all 3 zones. They are also not taking any crap from the opposition. Just on Saturday night, Bobby McMann was involved in a scrum where he wouldn't allow Zach Werenski to get the upper hand. Noah Gregor was right there to assist his linemate, who was also getting into it with Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
Seeing the fourth line have more of an impact as of late, in comparison to the start of the season, is allowing the Leafs to trend in the right direction. The energy and commitment the Kämpf line is showing is providing a boost to the bench. It will be interesting to see if this line is one that the Leafs will look to keep intact even after the trade deadline has come and gone.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 26 | 478 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe's comments about the Leafs' 4th line are actually quite surprising Will the Leafs current 4th line stay together for most of the remainder of the season? | ||
| Yes, they're good enough as is | 263 | 55 % |
| No, they'll bring in an upgrade at the deadline | 215 | 45 % |
| List of polls | ||
