Sheldon Keefe fires a warning shot at the Tampa Bay Lightning, promising a violent series
When the Leafs take to the ice on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena for Game 1 of their first round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe expects his team to get their hands dirty. It appears as though he means it, electing to dress both Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds for Game 1.
Keefe said on Sunday that the series will be "borderline violent", but then again, would we expect anything less from a playoff series? After all, the Leafs and Bolts split their season series at two games apiece and their last matchup ended with 118 penalty minutes and Kyle Clifford being ejected from the game for repeatedly hitting Corey Perry over the head with the butt end of his stick while Perry was being restrained by the officials.
The Lightning have found a recipe that works in the postseason, but the Leafs are not going into this one blind. They have played a pair of games against the Bolts late in the season and there is plenty of footage available from their past two Cup runs to dial into their system and come up with a game plan to try and get one up on Jon Cooper's crew. This is something that Keefe has already done.
-Keefe on what has made the Lightning so successful in the postseason
With Keefe essentially promising a rough series and his knowledge of what the Bolts have done to find their success in the playoffs, it's pretty clear that we can anticipate the Leafs instigating most of the post-whistle extracurricular activity rather than reacting to it. Maybe, just maybe, it will work well enough to take the Bolts off their game and give the Leafs the edge.
The Buds also worked hard enough this season to secure home ice advantage in round one, which could prove to be one of the most important factors if the series remains close and goes the distance. That extra game, feeding off of the hometown crowd, could be exactly what the Buds need to finally get the job done.
| POLL | ||
MAI 1 | 561 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe fires a warning shot at the Tampa Bay Lightning, promising a violent series Will the Leafs and Bolts be the roughest round one series in the East? | ||
| Definitely | 272 | 48.5 % |
| Washington and Florida will be the roughest | 103 | 18.4 % |
| New York and Pittsburgh will be the roughest | 63 | 11.2 % |
| Carolina and Boston will be the roughest | 123 | 21.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
