The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end last night, courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights. Near the end of the game, following a horrific penalty call on Leafs forward Mitch Marner, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was livid with officials. The officials were having none of it as they ejected Keefe from the game with just over 2 minutes to go.
Whether this was an honest assessment of the situation from Keefe or he was patronizing the officials is certainly up for debate. The referees were scaling the penalties heavily in favour of the Golden Knights all night, and it was pretty obvious to anyone watching the game that the game wasn't being called right down the middle.
Would more power plays have resulted in a Leafs win? No, not necessarily, but at least the game would have been decided fairly. Honestly, I do believe that Keefe's assessment was an honest one. In my opinion, it wasn't just mouth service or sarcasm. If the Leafs want to draw penalties, there are proven ways to do that - one of which is to keep your feet moving when under pressure. At times, you may draw a hold, a trip or a hook. With the Leafs allowing Vegas to stay on the right side of the margin with regard to the penalties last night, it was always going to be an uphill battle. Still, there's a chance that Keefe knew exactly what he was doing when he issued these comments. Only he knows for sure.
