Sheldon Keefe explains decision to bench winger last night
Putting forth a consistent 60-minute effort seems to still be an issue for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who blew a 2-0 lead last night against Columbus on home ice at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
Despite being a top team in the league, the Leafs are still prone to having off nights against weaker opponents, which is frustrating when you consider how many more points in the standings they'd have if they weren't too busy losing to Montreal, Ottawa, Columbus and Arizona so frequently.
During last night's game, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe took the opportunity to send a bit of a message when he benched Pierre Engvall following Boone Jenner's 2nd period tally. Engvall did not see another shift in the period. Following the game, Keefe explained the decision.
"It's just habits slipping. It's not just Pierre, it's the whole line ... They got to be competitive. They got to be great defensively. They got to be physical ... & when all that slips, that's not acceptable."
-Keefe on why he chose to bench Engvall for the remainder of the 2nd period following a goal against
-Keefe on why he chose to bench Engvall for the remainder of the 2nd period following a goal against
Honestly, it was actually refreshing to see Keefe bench one of his players who was underperforming in the game. More players should be held accountable and while I'm sure Keefe doesn't want to risk losing games by benching certain players who play a variety of roles for the team, nobody should be above accountability.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 12 | 486 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe explains decision to bench winger last night Did Engvall deserve to be benched last night? | ||
| Yes | 307 | 63.2 % |
| No | 94 | 19.3 % |
| Benched?? Just trade him already! | 85 | 17.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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