Keefe’s faith in team validated for now, as Leafs set table for Sweden
Sheldon Keefe told everyone in the desert last week that the Maple Leafs, despite their problems, are getting better.
Sometimes his words oozed desperation.
There was a good reason for that.
While Toronto’s previous slow starts have seen their best players underperform, the four have maintained their basic pace and provided plenty of offense.
What brought the team down was the rest of the team, they announced to the “Bottom Four” heading into the offseason.
Jon Klingberg, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves all struggled.
Their 6-5-2 record before the weekend was as good as a new team could get, and a bottom-six forward, injured defense and mediocre goaltending warranted alarm.
Keefe is uncertain despite signing a contract extension with new general manager Brad Treliving.
The Leafs aren’t out of the woods yet, but they traveled to Sweden for two games and confirmed Keefe’s faith in each other with back-to-back wins. Saturday was their most impressive, with a 5-2 shutout of the Vancouver Canucks, one of the hottest teams in the NHL. The third and fourth lines provided the goals, with Klingberg and Samsonov returning after a night of deliberation to take their efforts to the next level. The Leafs finished 3-2 in five games and were tied for second in the Atlantic Division with Detroit before the Panthers and Canadiens played in separate cities on Sunday.
“I thought this was a good way to end the family.
It was a good time,” Keefe said.
“Through all this, we tried to convey that we are moving in the right direction.
It wasn’t always like that, but between these walls and from the coaches’ perspective, I covered a lot of (positive) points.
“5-on-5, I barely gave up tonight.
In almost every game, we seem to be setting new standards in defensive play.
That’s about four games of 5-on-5 defense against the best team in the league.
“The results weren’t always in this house, but we stuck with them. This morning we talked about the good things we did (despite the three goals against Calgary on Friday).
Domi’s third line between Kalle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson led to a 5-4 win over the Flames.
When Bobby McMann left the farm Saturday to replace a disorganized Reaves on the fourth line, he assisted on goals by Noah Gregor and David Kampf.
In both games, Bertuzzi contributed more to William Nylander and John Tavares, who continue to join top prospects Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
“The extra points were huge.
We were able to increase our lead tonight,” Keefe said.
“Some nights, the best players don’t have that ability. But the best part is that after Domi moved to the center of this third line (after drying out the left wing and making Kampf a pure control center), all was well. But nevertheless, the problem was that the puck did not go into our goal.
Jake McCabe’s return from a groin injury helped, while Keefe played in the home duo of William Lagesson and Simon Benoit at the back five and six. Klingberg returned to Benoit’s house on Saturday.
Klingberg is suspected to be suffering from a bruised ego rather than a vague “injury” from Friday’s scratch, Keefe said. But the Swedes were better against the Canucks after 19 minutes despite not having a shot on goal.
“He made a lot of positive plays for us on the break, distributed the puck and stayed calm under pressure,” Keefe said.
Saturday’s result ended a franchise-worst streak of allowing four or more goals in eight games of the season.
“Sometimes when the numbers aren’t that good, you’re confused about how things are going,” quarterback Mark Giordano said Saturday night after the All-Star added a touchdown in the first period.
“It was a great team effort against someone who was completely mobile. We did a great job.”
The players were in Samsonov’s hut, a glittering wrestling belt that awarded the game’s MVP.
“Ilya was intense,” Keefe said.
“He gave up a few games in the first period (power play), which can happen to you, but he didn’t allow that to happen.
“I thought they took very good care of me.”
All the Leafs can do is sleep easy as they fly to Stockholm on Monday night to face the Red Wings and Minnesota Wild.
