Sheldon Keefe describes the feeling of seeing Tavares' OT winner cross the line
Breathe, Leaf fans, breathe. We are not dreaming. We are not dead. However, we are waiting for a report on the current temperatures in Hell and whether or not it has frozen over. The Leafs have finally, after 19 years of pain, won a playoff round. Not only that, they did it against a team that had been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, and won two of them. Now, the goal shifts. Winning one round is an indescribable feeling. Winning three more? Well, we can only hope we get to find out.
The Core 4 and Morgan Rielly truly showed up in this series, racking up a combined 42 points over 6 games. Ilya Samsonov made huge saves at the most important times, and the Leafs' depth players all contributed. Sheldon Keefe shuffled his lineup, scratching Zach Aston Reese, Sam Lafferty and Justin Holl in favour of Timothy Liljegren, Erik Gustafsson and Michael Bunting. The 11-7 format got the job done and we will finally get a taste of round 2 thanks to John Tavares' overtime winner.
Sheldon Keefe was asked to describe the feeling of seeing that puck trickle its way across the goal line after the game. He, like the rest of us, seemed to be in a state of shock. I don't think the win had fully settled in for him.
Being lucky enough to remember the Leafs last series win, it absolutely has been a long tome coming. There has been a different feeling around the team all season, and now we know why. Credit has to be given to both Kyle Dubas and Keefe. Dubas for his outstanding work around the trade deadline, and Keefe for taking a risk in changing his lineup in a key game and winning the coaching battle in the series. We get a few days to enjoy this one, then it's off to round 2 to face either Boston or Florida. I, for one, hope it's Boston. The Leafs exorcised multiple demons on their way to winning this series. It's time for another.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 186 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe describes the feeling of seeing Tavares' OT winner cross the line Now that the monkey is off their backs, how far can this team go? | ||
| 2nd round exit | 15 | 8.1 % |
| 3rd round exit | 18 | 9.7 % |
| Stanley Cup Finalists | 51 | 27.4 % |
| Stanley Cup Champions | 102 | 54.8 % |
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