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After practice on Monday, Sheldon Keefe discussed the challenge ahead against the Panthers in the second round, the city’s reaction to the first-round win over Tampa, the excellence of the Morgan Rielly – Luke Schenn pairing in the first round, and the status of Matt Murray’s recovery.

Practice Lines – May 1

What is the biggest challenge the Florida Panthers pose to you?

Keefe: There is a lot of speed and a lot of skill on the team. Obviously, they are really confident — not just because of how they just got through a juggernaut in the Boston Bruins but also how they played down the stretch to earn a playoff spot, to begin with.

They were playing extremely well and obviously have a lot of belief in their group. They carried that right into the playoffs. In a lot of ways, the type of series it is going to be is very similar to the one we just went through.

How do you deal with Matthew Tkachuk?

Keefe: Well, there is a lot to handle there in terms of how he plays. When I say how he plays, I mean that he’s so dynamic in that he can hurt you on the rush, he can make a play, and he can score a goal. He is going to drive the net and be around the crease.

He is as good as any player in the NHL behind the goal line and along the back wall. There is a lot to handle there, and then there is obviously the emotion and energy that he brings to the game.

For us, it will be trying to neutralize him as much as we can in terms of his abilities to play with the puck, play on the offense, and how he really drives the team but also not get distracted — as he would like us to be — with any of the other stuff outside of the gameplay.

A lot of the players spoke about feeling relief to have gotten over the hump in the first round. How do you think it might translate on the ice if at all?

Keefe: It remains to be seen how that affects us. It certainly is a sense of relief. You take a breath. Obviously, it is a big step and a big hurdle that we have finally pushed through here to finally earn the right to play in round two.

Now, the challenge for us then is to use that as fuel to continue to get better and go rather than get comfortable. Obviously, you want to be confident, and yet comfortable or complacent — there is no room for that in the playoffs and certainly not in round two.

There are going to be only eight teams remaining. It is great to be one of those eight out of 32. We have to continue to make sure we play with lots of edge. We are looking to have a much better start to the series than we had last time around.

What did you see from Michael Bunting as he returned to the lineup?

Keefe: I thought he had tremendous jump. I thought he was really focused. He just went out, played, and competed hard. I don’t think he was distracted by anything or concerned about anything other than doing what he needed to do for us. I really liked how he approached the game and how he performed in the game itself.

There is a lot of talk in the playoffs about needing to find a way to elevate your game at this time of year. What can you say about Morgan Rielly and the way he was able to do that in the first round?

Keefe: It was just tremendous.  To find that level of contribution offensively, from a guy who was trying to find it all season for us… It is exactly what you need from your team. I was going to say “your best people,” but you need it from your team all the way through.

Regardless of how much you play or what your role is, you need guys in different ways to step up. Morgan was one of a long list of guys that gave us tremendous contributions.

How well did you feel Timothy Liljegren stepped in for Game 6?

Keefe: I thought he did a good job. It is not an easy circumstance. You are stepping on the treadmill that is flying 100 miles an hour in Game 6 in the series. He is still a young defenseman.

Also, we are playing seven defensemen. You are not really in the regular routine. I thought he did a nice job for us in a difficult spot. As I had talked to him about during the series when he was out, you have to stay ready.

When you are called on, it is going to be at a very important time. The more games you play, the more the series moves along, the more critical and higher the stakes. It is that much more important that you stay focused and stay sharp, as difficult as it may be.

Because of how he played, it tells me that he was in a good place mentally. He was prepared. On the ice, the work that he had been doing with the coaches and development staff to stay sharp and stay ready all paid off.

What allowed Luke Schenn to help Morgan Reilly as a complementary partner in the first round?

Keefe: Both guys were so good. It is hard to say.

Obviously, they complemented each other well in lots of ways. Luke has the ability to be really strong around the nets, defend really hard, and be in good spots. Also, the way he moved the puck — he was as good of a guy as we had in terms of moving the puck out of our end with the composure that he had and the confidence that comes through the experience or whatever it is.

Both those guys — in a series where it was hard to get out of our end — had a tremendous amount of success with it. That’s why they were able to get the results that they had in the series. I think both guys found another level that obviously helped us significantly.

What was it like for you as a local guy to see the city’s reaction to the first-round series win? Does that really provide a motivating factor for you?

Keefe: Certainly, it is a motivating factor for sure. For different people, it would be higher on the list or lower on the list depending. Everyone has their own motivations.

There are the internal ones. There are the selfish ones that are all about you. There are ones that are about the team. There are ones that are about your family. There are ones about the fans and Leafs Nation.

When you come to a place like Toronto, all of those things are in play. I think it is tremendous to see the reaction and how invested people are in Leafs hockey. We remind our team often of that through the regular season even — just how special it is to be a part of this.

We are working toward something that is greater than ourselves. It was a long time coming. For them to be able to have that night is great. Even better that they’ll get to come back to Scotiabank Arena tomorrow.

Matt Murray was on the ice today. Where does that put him in terms of joining the lineup?

Keefe: Not exactly sure where that would put him in terms of joining the lineup. He is going to be a part of our group now. Today was a good step with him taking part in practice.

Obviously, Kallgren was our third goaltender in the last series. Now, with Murray, he will continue to be the third guy until I am told Murray is in a different spot or is able to back up. We will make a decision there.

For right now, it is good to see him out in practice. When the time comes in the series, I suspect he will travel with us and take it from there.

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