Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after his team’s 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken that dropped the Leafs’ record to 23-9-7.
On the team’s performance:
We had maybe as good of a first period as we’ve had in a long time. We moved the puck extremely well out of our zone. We were in full control of the game both ways — offensively and defensively. We handled the neutral zone really well defensively, too.
We generated six odd-man opportunities in the first period, and that was all through, for the most part, how we moved the puck coming out of our end. Love that.
We didn’t get a lot from it. A couple of two-on-ones, and we didn’t generate a shot. We got in behind them on a breakaway — Willy was in alone there — and he wasn’t able to generate much of a shot. All he can really do is shovel it at the goalie there. There were a couple of others where we could’ve really challenged the net and looked to make something happen, and we didn’t.
You get a great start, but I am sure on the other side, they look at it as the road team, it’s 0-0, and all is good. I didn’t like that we weren’t able to capitalize and control the game on the scoreboard with how well we played in the first period, and then the game is up for grabs, right?
They got one power play, and I thought we had an excellent penalty kill. I might be wrong, but I think it might’ve been the only shot attempt they had in a minute and a half. They get one shot attempt, and it goes in the net off of Gio.
That is kind of the way the game went for us. We didn’t capitalize on our looks early in the game enough. You leave the game up for grabs after that.
On Matt Murray’s performance in net:
We need to get a big save from him, right? We need to get a big save there.
If you look at the first one, he doesn’t get much action at all, and on the power play, there is not a lot happening. He is reading the release one way, and it goes off of Gio’s shinpad and in. Even the second one, he is screened on that one with a guy coming through.
There are some funny goals going in there, but just as we needed our players in the first period to make a big play and take control of the game, we need the goaltender to make a big save to get us going and give us life. We didn’t get that.
Those are the kinds of things that stand out about the game, but as I said, there is a lot to like about our first period. If we play like that, a lot of nights, we take control of games and don’t look back. Today, we let them hang around. We paid for it.
On whether he contemplated pulling Murray at any point:
A little bit. You are considering mixing things up a little bit, but Matt Murray has played a lot of really good hockey for us. I thought he deserved the opportunity to stay in there and fight.
On the team’s defensive play in the final 40 minutes:
You can’t give up a breakaway. You can’t give up a two-on-one in the third period. Aside from that, I thought we were fine.
In the first period, I think they really might’ve had one shot. One of their shots came from the neutral zone, and one shot on goal in the first period. Defensively, I don’t know if we can get much better than that.
We made some big mistakes. The breakaway is a big mistake. The game is already 2-1. You can’t make that mistake. It is one we would like to have back.
Aside from that, it is a tough game to play when you are constantly pulling the puck out of your net. I thought that took the life away from us a little bit, but I am not going to overthink that part of the game.
It is a funny game there. We didn’t do enough offensively to really gain traction and keep ourselves afloat.
