Sheldon Keefe react to Ilya Samsonov conceding nine goals in two games to start the season

Regarding Ilya Samsonov’s nine goals allowed in two games to open the season, Sheldon Keefe said, “Our team defense has a responsibility to take care of our goalies.
In that regard, we haven’t done nearly enough.

After Sunday’s workout, Sheldon Keefe spoke about Joseph Woll’s first game start of the year against.
The defensive performances of Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies in the first two games, Max Domi’s season debut, and Chicago on Monday.

What kind of an impression has Connor Bedard made on you during his brief time in the league?

The biggest thing, in my opinion, is that I wasn’t familiar with Keefe’s game prior to his entry into the league.
His shot and his scoring prowess have received a lot of attention, and rightfully so.
However, I would say that his game is far more dynamic and all-around offensively than I had initially believed.
Although you may only think of him as a shooter, he also makes a lot of plays.
He stirs up trouble.
Despite his inexperience in his first season of the league, he has been doing that so far here.

There is obviously a lot to think about and worry about going into the game, but we believe that if our team’s defensive performance keeps getting better as it needs to, a lot of that kind of stuff will be taken care of. But it will undoubtedly face opposition.

What have you enjoyed so far about Joseph Woll’s training camp and practices?

Keefe: He has demonstrated consistency.
His health has held up.
You worry about it with a young guy because he was sick and missed his preseason debut.
Part of it is how does it affect them when they miss, every time.

It is similar to what he did the year before. He skipped both preseason and training camp.
His career in the American league got off to a great start, and he never looked back.

He has good looks. He appears to be much cozier.
He is now aware of his belonging here. I believe that he earned that by playing well the previous year.
Through his performance in training camp and the preseason, he has given us no reason to have any doubts about that.

Do you think Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies have been playing defense well so far?

Keefe: Actually, I have a lot.
They have only had one characteristic that has remained constant throughout both games.
They did a great job of defense.
They were by far our best defensive line yesterday.
The least of any line, they made concessions.

Those are the two young men you have. Jarnkrok obviously makes a significant contribution to that team in that way, but we were confident enough in their ability to win without Jarny.

The third period was when I once again liked them. I could tell that they had a little more going on offensively with Max’s addition.

I noticed improvement in Minten’s overall game against a big, powerful, and physically demanding team, which is the most important development.
It was encouraging to see that.
He moved forward again during practice today.
With his game today, he appeared to be shooting the puck into the goal and playing with a lot of confidence. Those are some really admirable qualities that he keeps developing.

Given their close friendship, have you asked Fraser for advice on Bedard?

Keefe: There is adequate coverage there for us to gather some information.

Ilya Samsonov will have some downtime before his upcoming start to work with Curtis Sanford since Joseph Woll will begin on Monday. What are you noticing about him to begin the season?

Keefe: It simply seems early and like he hasn’t found his groove yet.
However, regardless of who is in goal, our team defense has a duty to look out for our goalies, as we have discussed numerous times over the years.
We haven’t come close to doing a good enough job there.

No matter who is in our net, let’s keep an eye on that as a team and play carefully.
The goaltenders should be surrounded by a level of security and structure that enables them to settle into their rhythm and build their confidence.
From there, everything else fits into place.
My attention is currently on strengthening our group’s defense.

What is the takeaway for Max Domi’s defensive performance?

Keefe: Understanding the subtleties of our system and taking that into account.
I only discussed Max’s offensive puck management during our meeting today.
You have to defend more if you don’t handle the puck well offensively.
In essence, that is it.

In Max’s case, I believe it’s about keeping himself and his team on offense more frequently.
We want to do a better job when we lose the puck.
That’s all there is to it: realizing that good offensive play results from puck management, which also results in significantly less defending.

That is the main takeaway for Max.

Auston Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut during Guy Boucher’s first game in Ottawa.
Did that just come up a few days ago?

Keefe: It was brought up. Guy remarked that he had won the game.