Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after his team’s 5-4 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues that improved the Leafs’ record to 22-7-6.
On the team’s performance:
I mean, as a general rule, you don’t get too critical of these games coming out of the break — even less so when you get two points.
It is a 5-4 hockey game, so there is a lot going on. It is a little bit chaotic. I didn’t like that when we were in control of the game in the second period with a two-goal lead, we gave it back.
You have to like how our guys fought back. We played with the lead for [most] of the game. We never trailed. In that sense, on the road, that is a job well done.
On leaving the game with two points despite a less-than-perfect performance:
Coming off of the break, you are not quite sure what to expect from the guys or from the game. You are really just hoping to get out of it healthy with two points. To that end, I liked how our guys were resilient and found a way.
We will pack up, head out to Arizona, and have a good practice tomorrow.
On the officiating in the game:
Watching Zach Aston-Reese getting sewn up on the table there after the game is a little hard to take, but we are happy with the two points.
Keefe: Wake the f–k up Wes! pic.twitter.com/r76XoQJKiz
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 28, 2022
On the decision to start two defensemen and David Kämpf in OT:
I wouldn’t say it worked the last time; we were intent on trying that approach and never really got to. We wanted to give that a look today. It changes the dynamic of overtime pretty significantly.
I thought we defended the first bit well, obviously. Whether it is a factor or not, I am not quite sure, but later in the overtime, when you see our top guys still have energy the way that Willy did to jump on that puck and take off… I don’t know if that is the reason why it works out that way, but I liked the way it played out tonight.
On Calle Järnkrok’s performance:
I liked it a lot. He showed again that he is a good, smart, veteran player. He can make a play when it is time to make a play. He can score when it is time to score. I thought he did good things.
I am not going to be too critical or too overly positive on a night like this here tonight. We are just happy to get the two points. We will get into more of a regular routine and I am sure feel a lot better next time out.
