Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after his team’s series victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On his emotions when he realized the OT goal was over the line:
Jubilation. I don’t know. You black out in those moments. You don’t know what is going on. You are just really excited. It has been a long time coming for a lot of players in our room, a long time for myself, and even longer for Leafs Nation. It is a big night.
On what he will remember the most about the night:
Just the moment of seeing that puck find its way in the net. It goes in, and then it is such an incredible moment.
Playoff hockey is incredible. This whole night was incredible tonight. It was so loud in the building. I don’t know if I was able to speak a word without screaming it as loud as I could to make sure the players could hear me because of how loud it is.
The intensity and emotion in the building tonight — from the start to finish — was incredible. To finish the game in overtime… I mean, I look at it a year ago. We were in this very building in Game 6 in overtime. We had opportunities to win the game. It didn’t go our way.
I look at even Montreal Game 6. We had opportunities to win the game and it didn’t go our way.
To be back in the same position again… We had been talking about feeling different about our team. Feeling different doesn’t help us. It has to be different. It seemed like all series that it was different.
That is three overtime wins and three road wins in this building against the champs. I know Colorado is the champs, but in this division and in this conference, this is the class of the league in Tampa. To find a way to get on the right side of it against this group is big.
I am incredibly proud of our group and thrilled for Leafs fans that they get to see second-round hockey. There is a lot more to come.
On the message to the team after the win:
I don’t remember. You are probably going to see it somewhere back.
Incredibly emotional. You come off the bench, and everybody in your organization is there. The guys are really excited. It is hard to find the words for that moment.
I really just acknowledged the fact that it has been a long road for a lot of our guys. They have been through a lot of shit to get here to this spot.
For them, to get this feeling tonight — they deserve it. The guys have worked incredibly hard, have been through a lot, and have been questioned a lot.
It is about time a bounce went our way.
On what made the difference in this year’s round versus years past:
It is so hard to say.
You look at the additions we made to our group, starting back to the trade deadline a year ago with Giordano. I look at the offseason and a guy like Jarnkrok, who has played deep in the playoffs and played a lot in the playoffs. The additions of O’Reilly, Schenn, McCabe, and Acciari… These guys have played in the league a long time and/or have played deep in the playoffs.
O’Reilly and Schenn, of course, have won. Schenn has won with this team in this building with our opponent. All of these kinds of things really helped us.
Kyle [Dubas] did an unbelievable job throughout the offseason and the trade deadline to put us in a positon to succeed. He probably more than anybody deserved to have this result. He has believed in the group, and yet he has made adjustments and changes along the way.
It has felt different all season. I am glad to be able to sit up here and say: It is different.
On why it felt different this year throughout the season:
Last season, I thought we had a really close group and a really good group. The additions of the veteran people that we added — not just the veteran status but just the type of people in the O’Reilly, the Schenns, and the Acciaris — complete our group and give us the confidence we can have in moments.
Acciari is a guy who has been deep in the playoffs and played a lot of really high-stakes hockey as I referred to with Jarnkrok. Those kinds of things just help the group so much. We are a veteran group now.
As we have gone through this, we have had different iterations of the group. The core itself has gotten older, more experienced, more scars, and all of that from what we have been through. Everybody that we have brought in has really served a purpose — a purpose in terms of our culture, in terms of the identity of our team, and perhaps most importantly, a group that doesn’t go away.
No matter what the circumstance is — whether it is a physical confrontation after a whistle, a 50-50 puck, or overtime when the stakes are high and one mistake can make the difference, I feel like our group has the ability to stand in there and hold their ground greater than any version we have had in the past.
On how the lineup changes for Game 6 worked out:
Hard to say. I thought there were times when it definitely helped us. Matthews’ goal was a time — with the bench going the way that it was — where the nature of 11/7 encourages you to mix and match the lines a little bit. To get Tavares and Marner out there with Auston at a time when the momentum was starting to build our way, we were able to capitalize on that. It paid off for us.
There are positives there. There were times when I wished I had 12. There are times you wish you had guys like Aston-Reese and Lafferty, who can defend hard and help you out in some of those spots.
I thought it worked. I thought the reasons why we did it — in terms of not knowing what the game is going to bring but that we had to make changes… We didn’t know if we were going to need Gustafsson to really help push us on offense or Liljegren’s defending ability and versatility.
Our lines moved around a lot throughout the series. Nothing has really clicked to the point where we felt, “This has to stay.” I thought some fluidity amongst the group would help boost everybody while also making it a little bit more difficult and less predictable for the opposition with last change.
On what getting over the hump could do for the team:
It has been a long time coming — too long for this group. It is an incredible moment today. It is a huge step for our team.
From day one of the season, we haven’t talked about winning the first round. We are trying to win the Stanley Cup. Today is a significant step. You don’t have a chance to get there unless you can get over this hump here, but we are trying to win the Stanley Cup.
We aren’t going to celebrate as though we have won anything beyond the first round tonight, but it is a significant step for our team. We will enjoy it tonight. It is going to be a quick turnaround. Before you know it, we are going to be right back at it.
It is an unbelievable moment. Our players, our staff, the entire organization, and our fans deserve to enjoy this one. But there is a lot ahead and I believe the best is still to come for our team.
On what stood out about the team’s play overall in the game:
The first thing that stands out is the play of Samsonov. He was so solid all night long. That just gave the group such incredible confidence.
Obviously, it is a 0-0 game, a 1-0 game, and they end up tying it. One shot makes the difference as it has virtually every game we have played in here, especially late in the game in overtimes and such.
For him to give us that stability back there is how you end up on the right side of these overtimes. We have been on the wrong side of a lot of these overtimes — too many. There is a lot that goes into it.
Sammy’s play tonight was inspiring to the group. We had a chance to stick with it, keep chipping away, and weather the storm when they were coming. They certainly did come again tonight.
We were there. We were right there with them all night. It ends up that the puck finds its way in for us.
On captain John Tavares coming through in OT:
As I peeked in the window, I saw Morgan and John sitting up here. Obviously, Morgan is the longest-tenured Leaf. John made the choice to come home and play for the Leafs. To see those guys up here — and up here because they made a significant contribution to that goal to clinch it…
Obviously, Rielly had an unbelievable series for us. It is very fitting to see those guys up here, but you don’t beat a team like Tampa without it being a team effort. Every guy gave us everything they had here in this series. I am incredibly proud of the group to find a way to get it done.
