Sheldon Keefe shuts the media down regarding Game 2 lineup questions
Following an embarrassing loss to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Boston, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe played his cards close to the vest on Sunday afternoon ahead of Game 2.
Keefe's decision-making on Sunday should come as no surprise to fans. The Leafs' head coach chose not to open up about any potential lineup tweaks following practice on Sunday ahead of Monday's all-important Game 2.
Not only did Keefe make excuses for Ilya Samsonov following the team's Game 1 loss to the Bruins, but he is also not doing or saying anything to potentially shed some light on the situation for fans or put them at ease ahead of tomorrow night's grudge match.
The Leafs actually played an excellent first period despite entering the first intermission trailing the Bruins 1-0. However, you can't play an undisciplined game and hope to win in the playoffs, when the margin for error is much smaller. The officiating didn't do them any favours either, as the Bruins spent practically the entire game on the power play.
Despite Auston Matthews getting five shots on goal and three powerplays to work his magic, the 69-goal scorer during the regular season was held off the scoreboard and joined by Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly. With the quartet combining for more than $40M against the salary cap, you'd certainly hope for at least one goal in a game as important as the first game in a 7-game series against a team you haven't beaten in the postseason in more than six decades.
For Sheldon Keefe, I can certainly understand not wanting to divulge too much information, but to come out and say absolutely nothing about the lineup after a performance like that, it almost seems, from the outside looking in, that he's enabling that type of a game to start the playoffs, which won't sit well with the fanbase.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 21 | 564 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe shuts the media down regarding Game 2 lineup questions Did Sheldon Keefe make a mistake by starting Ilya Samsonov in Game 1 against the Bruins? | ||
| Yes, it should have been Woll | 102 | 18.1 % |
| No, Samsonov was the right call | 296 | 52.5 % |
| There were no right choices for the Leafs in net | 166 | 29.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
