Sheldon Keefe gives his thoughts on what amounts to the Leafs' best 60-minute effort of the season
After a 1-2-2 Western road trip, the sky was falling so to speak in Toronto. Many speculated that Keefe's job was on the line or that at least the heat had been turned up. After two straight wins against the Flyers and Bruins though, things are back to normal in Toronto.
The Leafs played their best game of the season against the league-leading Bruins Saturday night, limiting them to just a single goal on a Brad Marchand penalty shot. The Leafs were able to sustain pressure and cycle the puck in the Bruins' zone constantly and were defensively responsible when they had to play in their own end. Handing the Bruins just their 2nd loss of the season, combined with a Vegas win in Montreal has just pushed the Bruins out of the top spot in the league.
"We just found another level. We moved the puck better. We skated harder both ways. We knew that Boston was going to demand our absolute best if we were going to compete with them. Our guys not only met that, I thought we established the pace," said Keefe of the Leafs' best effort of the season.
It's something fans are used to seeing - losing games against the bottom 5 teams, then rebounding to beat the one of the top teams. While the Leafs played their best game of the season, it'd be great if they would stop playing down to the levels of lesser opponents and play this way every game. Just imagine a Leafs team who didn't quit against inferior opponents.. with the amount of points this team drops to basement-dwellers, they could be a Presidents Trophy winner a few years running if they'd just keep the effort levels consistent.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 6 | 224 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe gives his thoughts on what amounts to the Leafs' best 60-minute effort of the season Is Sheldon Keefe's job still in jeopardy? | ||
| Yes | 91 | 40.6 % |
| No | 55 | 24.6 % |
| It never really was | 78 | 34.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
