Advertisement

After practice on Friday, Sheldon Keefe discussed his decision to go back to Petr Mrazek in net for the Heritage Classic game on Sunday, the strangely low number of penalties Auston Matthews draws, and re-uniting William Nylander and John Tavares partway through the game against Arizona.

Practice Group – March 11

Auston Matthews has only drawn five penalties this season. Does that seem low to you?

Keefe: It seems very low. He has the puck a ton.

We talked about this earlier. Part of it you can’t help but relate to the fact that he is, in a lot of ways, unstoppable. His feet keep moving. He plays through obstruction, traffic, sticks, and holds. A lot of players can’t do that. They don’t have that ability.

While you see a stat like that and you might focus on the officiating, it is also a lot more challenging to call penalties against Auston because he plows through it like there is nothing there. That is part of it.

At the same time, something such as last night maybe draws a little more attention to it, and you start to see those. It is not like it doesn’t happen. It just doesn’t obstruct him in the way that it does most people.

What kind of conversations can you have with the officials throughout the night when you’re puzzled about the calls and non-calls?

Keefe: It depends. Each official has their own personality. Ultimately, our message to the players is that we have to play through these things. You can’t impact the way the game is called. You can’t control that. You just have to play through it.

If you look at a game like last night’s, there are no penalties called either way. It is on us to put ourselves in a better spot so that instead of the situation, like overtime, we are in a better spot.

I don’t spend very much time focused on penalties or non-penalties or whatever.

Where are you at in regards to the goaltending decision for Sunday’s game?

Keefe: We have thought a lot about it. We have talked about it. We wanted to see how Petr came in today, where he is at mentally, and what kind of work he can get in.

Ultimately, for us, when we look at it, there are a number of different things. You want to give Petr an opportunity to get back in and respond. There is the fact that there is an outdoor game and you have that happening; Petr has experience playing outdoor games in the NHL.

There is a lot of stuff going on there that makes it obvious to us to give Petr another chance to go back in. There is the simple fact that he has won 10 games for us this year. He hasn’t played nearly to his ability, but he has won games for us this season. We need to win a game on Sunday.

Kallgren showed very well. He showed us that he can go in for us if we need him to. We like a lot of what he did last night. He didn’t get a lot of work — eight shots, or whatever it was — but it shows for our players what they can do for goalies with their work. That is on us to continue to do that for Petr.

With Petr’s experience and the fact that we want to give him a chance to get back in there and show better, and with the work he showed today, he will be back in for Sunday.

What kind of vibe were you getting from Mrazek coming off of last night?

Keefe: He just said he was committed to coming in and working. Steve Briere spent a lot of time with him today. They went through a lot of different things. They were able to get out on the ice and focus on a goaltending session.

It was both a chance to work with Petr and get to know Kallgren a little bit better. Steve himself hasn’t spent a lot of time with him. He hasn’t been around here very much. It was a good day for that.

Petr came in today and had a good workday. The reports were all really good and positive. That was kind of the last thing I was looking for towards making a decision for Sunday.

There were so many signs, in particular with it being an outdoor game, that I don’t want to put Kallgren in that spot, especially when we have a guy who does have experience and has a little something to prove on Sunday.

Jason Spezza has said that an outdoor game might be an advantage because it’s a change of scenery and gives you something different versus having the spotlight on the goalie.

Keefe: Maybe. Spotlight is what it is. The spotlight is deserved at this point. The goalie has to be better. Our players have to be better in front of him. Let’s not shy away from the spotlight. We just have to take care of what we can.

Will Spezza be in on Sunday, and if so, who is coming out for him?

Keefe: Spezz will be in. I haven’t communicated it to the other player. I’ll hold onto that.

What does an outdoor game mean to you?

Keefe: I certainly have great memories of playing outside with my dad and my brother, friends, and all of that — probably not unlike most Canadian kids. Of course, I am a city guy. I spent a lot of time indoors at the arena.

Probably, my memories are a little bit different than the people who live outside the bigger cities. I don’t think the outdoor game was necessarily a huge part of my life, but certainly, there are memories there. Because there probably are not as many, they stand out.

From a distance, you watch all of these outdoor games happening in professional hockey, particularly the NHL, and you think they are pretty cool to be a part of. This is a great opportunity for me.

Maybe the biggest thing that excites me… Through this pandemic, one of the things in this job, especially, is the disconnect that your family feels from what you are doing. They haven’t been able to be around. They have been able to be back at the games and such in the last little bit, but they haven’t been able to be around the team. Having your kids run around the dressing room and in your office — stuff like that — is something I haven’t had in two seasons here now.

That gives a little more opportunity. We are going to have a family skate after practice tomorrow and get some family time. We get to interact with the families of other staff members, players, and such. Those are the kinds of things that we have really missed through all of this. That is what I am most excited for.

Jason Spezza said he still likes to skate outdoors a fair bit, even nowadays. Do you feel like he might be your secret weapon out there?

Keefe: It doesn’t surprise me. I know we’ve talked about that. He gets his girls out on the ice and skates quite a bit on the outdoor rink.

I think everybody looks at this game a little bit differently. Some of them will be really excited about it, and some of them don’t like too much change to their regular routines and such.

Overall, when I talk to people who have been a part of this, they find, like anything that comes up in this game, once the puck drops, you tend to just focus on what is going on on the ice. We have been through a lot, whether it is fans or no fans, and I think once the puck drops on Sunday, the focus will be on the game.

Everything else surrounding it is certainly a distraction, but at this point in the season, sometimes those types of distractions are welcomed to break it up.

John Tavares and William Nylander ended up back together after getting split up to start the game. What was your sense of how they responded to being split up?

Keefe: First of all, I thought both guys, when they were not together, had good legs early in the game. I liked the way they worked and competed. Once you get down in the game, I felt the need to shorten the bench and go with fewer guys to try to get a smaller group really going. I went with that.

I thought we got some good shifts. I liked the way those three lines together were working. It was just easier for us to stay with it. I did like it when they were back together, but I think that trust was earned by how they were playing apart from one another. It was good to see.

I thought Willy had his best legs in a while. I thought John really worked and competed. That line was good for us. They scored us a huge goal. It was really positive.

Were you surprised to see John Tavares out there today for the optional skate?

Keefe: Yeah, I am. Pretty well everybody who was out there it wasn’t optional for, but it was optional for everyone else. John elected to go, get out there, and get some work in.

Rest is important at this time of year. We just finished playing three games in four nights. That is why we didn’t want the full practice today. Of all the players that I trust to know their bodies and know what they need, John is at the top of the list. If he felt he needed that work today, we trust him that he’ll be better for it on the weekend.

Why is he at the top of that list?

Keefe: Just through his experience, how he takes care of himself, how in tune he is with how he is feeling, and how closely he works with our medical and strength teams. He is dialed in and doesn’t miss a beat with regards to anything that relates to his own preparation.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR