Sheldon Keefe lays into Leafs over horrendous effort against the Sabres
The Leafs did it again, ladies and gentlemen. They blew another multi-goal lead and dropped yet another game to an inferior opponent, losing 4-3 on home ice to the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The more things change, the more they stay the same and even though we had 4 of our 6 new acquisitions in the lineup last night, it wasn't enough to keep the demons at bay. They crept in after the 1st period last night and the Leafs lost to a non-playoff team for the 13th time this season.
Following the loss, Leafs bench boss, Sheldon Keefe, was not pleased with how his team let off the gas after building an early 2-0 lead. What followed in the final 40 minutes was the team allowing 4 straight goals to Buffalo, forcing themselves to play from behind yet again. Keefe called that a must-win game under the circumstances. He's not wrong.
The Leafs out-shot the Sabres 12-3 in the first period and looked as dominant as they had looked all season. The problem was that, in the second, they came out flat and were out-shot by the Sabres 17-3 in the middle frame. Keefe did not hold back on his team for that embarrassing showing on home ice.
As we all know, it's not what you said - it's how you respond. The Leafs have an important game against the Colorado Avalanche coming up on Wednesday. The Avs have won their last 2 games, including an 8-4 drubbing of the Montreal Canadiens last night. The Leafs hold a 4-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning for 2nd in the Atlantic Division and have one game in hand. It's important for the Buds to add some extra cushion to avoid missing out on home ice in the 1st round of the playoffs. Hopefully Keefe and his team are ready to respond on Wednesday, because this is the wrong time of the year for a losing streak.
| POLL | ||
MARS 14 | 212 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe lays into Leafs over horrendous effort against the Sabres Is this Leafs team a true playoff contender or are they still playoff pretenders? | ||
| Contenders | 106 | 50 % |
| Pretenders | 106 | 50 % |
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