Sheldon Keefe Denies the Maple Leafs Full Credit for Their Win with Puzzling Comment

Sheldon Keefe was not impressed with his team's effort on Thursday, and refused to give credit to the Maple Leafs for playing well enough to win in New Jersey.

Ahead of Sheldon Keefe taking on his former team Thursday night, he shared some kind words about the organization. Unfortunately, Keefe and the New Jersey Devils fell 4-2 to the Leafs on Thursday, which led Keefe to call out his team's poor play and discredit the Leafs' performance following the game.

As much as things change, they can also remain the same. This is something Keefe was known for during his time in Toronto, often claiming that his teams had beaten themselves. Old habits die hard, it seems.

https://www.nhl.com/devils/video/keefe-post-raw-10-10-24-6363101797112

Keefe and the Devils fell into a 3-0 hole in the first period after a poor start - something that became very common when he was coaching the Leafs. While the Devils got one back late in the period, Keefe's inability to have his team start on time followed him to New Jersey and ultimately cost them the game as Leaf fans saw countless times during his five years in Toronto.

The Leafs, on the other hand, got off to a very good start, getting goals from Steven Lorentz, Max Pacioretty, and Bobby McMann in a span of seven minutes midway through the first period. They also got the timely saves they seldomly got last season from Dennis Hildeby in his first NHL start. The rookie netminder was able to hold things down to secure his first career NHL win.

The Leafs will look to build on their first win of the season as they meet another former member of the organization when they host Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night while Keefe and the Devils will have plenty of time to mull over their loss to the Leafs as the two sides don't meet again until December.

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