Sheldon Keefe identifies surprising player as a "game changer" against the Jets
The Toronto Maple Leafs were not at their best against the Winnipeg Jets last night, but managed to collect an important two points thanks to Ilya Samsonov and an Auston Matthews overtime winner that was set up by the play of Nick Robertson. Yes, you read that correctly, it was not Mitch Marner setting up Matthews, but rather the 22-year-old former second-round pick.
Following the game, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about the play of Robertson and Keefe had some immense praise for the young forward.
"Huge. We had a lot of guys who just didn't have it tonight. I thought Robertson did have it. He was the one guy who seemed to be able to generate some shots and challenge the goaltender a bit. We talked about the boost that he gave us at the end of a long road trip in Seattle. I thought he gave us a boost again tonight. That is what you need," said Keefe.
"We were talking about as coaches in the second intermission. It was one of those games where we were going to need somebody else to step up. I didn't feel like our top guys had it tonight. Robbie was certainly a candidate for me. That is why you start to double him up a little bit and get him involved in overtime. He was all around the puck and made a play. Auston finished it."
"We were talking about as coaches in the second intermission. It was one of those games where we were going to need somebody else to step up. I didn't feel like our top guys had it tonight. Robbie was certainly a candidate for me. That is why you start to double him up a little bit and get him involved in overtime. He was all around the puck and made a play. Auston finished it."
Robertson has been in and out of the lineup recently, but earned himself some grace with the coach after a stellar outing in Seattle. After being a game-time decision against Seattle, he rewarded by Keefe with another game.
Roberson played a career-high 17:08 last night after playing just 8:52 against Seattle on Sunday. He had 4 shots on goal and made a fantastic play to set up the overtime winner. Over his last seven games, Robertson has 4 goals and five points and is making it difficult for Keefe to keep him out of the lineup.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 25 | 756 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe identifies surprising player as a "game changer" against the Jets Does Robertson deserve more of an opportunity in the lineup? | ||
| Definitely | 716 | 94.7 % |
| No, he still needs to work on his defensive game | 40 | 5.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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