Sheldon Keefe weighs in on how the Leafs played in their first home game in weeks
Well, that's more like it, isn't it!? The Leafs looked a lot more like the 115-point team from last season on Wednesday night. They carried the play, they put goals on the board and they finally stood up for each other on the ice. In what was their best game of the season to date, the Leafs seemed to control the entire game, even after Philadelphia opened the scoring.
In his post game availability, Keefe couldn't find anything to criticize in the Leafs' game tonight. The top players looked like top players, the role players did their jobs and the D looked much better than it has of late. Coming off of a 4-game losing streak, it was as perfect a game as a coach could have asked for.
It was better. I thought we had good legs. I thought we moved the puck much better. We had the puck a lot, did a lot of good things. Thought we were in control of the game pretty much from start to finish despite them scoring first. I don't think it rattled us. - Sheldon Keefe
Not mentioned in this quote was, in my opinion, one of the most important things that happened during the game. Both Mark Giordano and Michael Bunting defending their teammates when the Leafs put the game out of reach. The win is great, but heading into a tough matchup against the Boston Bruins, the team standing up for each other was my biggest takeaway. Team toughness is something this group has lacked, so here's hoping they can build on it and carry this momentum to a big win against the Bruins on Saturday night.
POLL |
NOVEMBRE 3 | 232 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe weighs in on how the Leafs played in their first home game in weeks What was the best thing about the Leafs' win over the Flyers? |
The win | 57 | 24.6 % |
The team toughness | 48 | 20.7 % |
John Tavares showing out | 109 | 47 % |
Ilya Samsonov | 18 | 7.8 % |
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