Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs let a surefire win slip away in the dying minutes of the game, surrendering two goals to the Hurricanes late to force overtime. During the extra frame, the Leafs also failed to convert on a rare OT powerplay opportunity, which set the two Eastern Conference contenders up for a shootout, where new Canes winger Jake Guentzel put the game away in the final shootout attempt.
The game was yet another example of the Leafs not being able to tighten things up late and close out a game that they should have won handily. Surprisingly, rather than deep frying his team after the loss, Sheldon Keefe was very complimentary of his group on Saturday.
People are probably going to jump all over Sheldon Keefe for this one. Yes, there were some penalty issues and yes, there were a few missed calls, but you simply cannot go 0/4 on the powerplay and hope to win games. You also can't surrender two goals late in a game that you were firmly controlling and then turn around and say "ah, well. You win some, you lose some".
When you're coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs, you have to hold yourself and your team to a higher standard. One of the most storied franchises, with all of the pain and anguish the team and the fanbase has faced for nearly six decades, Keefe really needs to do better with how he handles a loss like that.
