Sheldon Keefe responds to criticism with stone cold quote in awesome ''mic drop'' moment
Last night, the Leafs showed us the duality of the team, as Mitch Marner fired home a hat trick to give the Buds a healthy 3-1 lead a few minutes before the 2nd period came to a close. One of the biggest knocks about the team this season has been their inability to hold onto leads in the 3rd period, and this is where that duality kicks in.
The Leafs surrendered two unanswered goals in the 3rd period, as Eeli Tolvanen and Jared McCann scored approximately 7 minutes apart to knot the game up at 3 goals apiece, ultimately forcing the Leafs into extra time for their 4th time in 5 games.
Of course, thanks to another brilliant performance by Joseph Woll in OT and in the shootout, the Leafs were able to skate away with the 4-3 victory, but it left many asking questions about whether or not the Leafs are actually a contending team this season. Naturally, Sheldon Keefe put a stamp on the win with his post-game comments to the media, revealing where the team is in the standings with 3 of their top-6 defensemen out and with the team not even having played their best hockey yet.
"There's 23 teams below us in the standings right now and we haven't played our best hockey."
As if that moment was enough of a "mic drop" moment, Keefe elaborated a bit on where he feels the team is at, as they've just passed the quarter-mark of the 2023-24 season.
"We're in a pretty good place while we continue to work through the things that we have to improve upon. And the points that we've accumulated to this point are not nothing. There's a lot of good things happening to put us in those positions. Obviously we know we have to continue to improve in the areas that will get us on the other side of it, so we don't have to go to overtime or shootout or anything like that."
The Leafs have a meeting with the Boston Bruins coming up tomorrow, so that should be a good measuring stick game with regard to where the team stands right now. With the Bruins having struggled of late, aside from a win over San Jose last night, finding a way to beat the Bruins in regulation will be a huge step in the right direction for this team. A loss or another game going into extra time might raise a few red flags that will need addressing sooner rather than later.
POLL |
DECEMBRE 1 | 563 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe responds to criticism with stone cold quote in awesome ''mic drop'' moment Are you at all concerned that the Leafs have so few regulation wins this season? |
Wins are wins, keep stacking them up | 217 | 38.5 % |
Yes, we need to win more in regulation | 249 | 44.2 % |
It's too early to judge. Ask me again in March | 97 | 17.2 % |
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