Sheldon Keefe explains Tyler Bertuzzi's absence to start last night's game
The Toronto Maple Leafs flipped the script a night after falling to the Philadelphia Flyers as they scored less than 20 seconds into their 7-3 win over the Washington Capitals last night. Although they were up 1-0 early, fans were concerned when they saw Bobby McMann on the top line with Auston Matthews and Max Domi while Tyler Bertuzzi sat on the bench for almost half of the first period.
Bertuzzi ended up playing the rest of the game and scored midway through the third period. Following the game, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about Bertuzzi missing his first few shifts of the game and revealed that Bertuzzi almost didn't play last night.
Bertuzzi, along with Matthews and Domi, had an absolutely dominant night offensively. They combined for 3 goals and 10 points. McMann, who started the game on the top line due to Bertuzzi not feeling well, also revealed post-game that he did not know he was starting until Keefe revealed the starting lineup moments before the game.
With Mitch Marner's return still up in the air, it sounds like Keefe will keep the trio of Bertuzzi-Matthews-Domi together for the time-being as he was thoroughly impressed with their efforts judging by his post-game comments.
| POLL | ||
21 MARS | 581 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe explains Tyler Bertuzzi's absence to start last night's game Should Keefe keep the Domi-Matthews-Bertuzzi line together when Marner returns? | ||
| Definitely | 263 | 45.3 % |
| Maybe, the sample size is still too small | 184 | 31.7 % |
| No, go back to Mitchy and Auston | 134 | 23.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
