Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers that dropped the team’s record to 2-2-0.
On the team’s overall performance:
I liked a lot about our game. That was probably the best game that we played in in terms of the quality of the game. It was tight, fast, and competitive.
Defensively, we did a nice job throughout the game. We didn’t give up much at five-on-five. We gave up two goals from distance and not much else other than that.
We didn’t do enough to generate enough offense. If you don’t score, you don’t win. That is the way it works.
On breaking up the top line after the first period:
Bert is less than 100% right now. It was very clear from the pace of the game, the competitiveness, and the difficulty of the matchups that whoever was going to play with Auston and Mitch needed a lot.
I thought lightening Bert’s load would be beneficial to him tonight given that he was a game-time decision and kind of fighting through something.
On whether Tyler Bertuzzi may need to take a game or two to rest:
Possibly. We will have to see. It is something he is dealing with. It isn’t too severe at this point, but even on the bench, he is trying to stay loose and make sure he can be ready for his next shift. That wasn’t a good sign for me in terms of the quality of the game. I really just wanted to lighten his load.
On Auston Matthews’ contributions on the penalty kill:
He is comfortable. He is doing a really good job once we get the puck. That is what you want to see — some of his skill that way.
There are still some things defensively… it is not just him, but all of our penalty killers. We have some different people in different spots and in different roles who are still trying to find their way through it. I think he has handled it well.
On Fraser Minten’s play through his first four NHL games:
I think he is learning a lot about the league. He continues to work hard. He continues to be good defensively. He won a couple of puck battles tonight that were really positive and good.
I wanted to get David Kampf a little more involved today. We hadn’t used him very much. He is another guy who I feel like has more to offer the team. I thought Kampf had his best game tonight.
You are playing from behind, so you are just not using the whole bench.
On what’s needed for the newcomers to become more comfortable with the team’s systems:
Time.
On Ilya Samsonov’s performance:
I thought he was solid. We have been talking about this. We can’t truly assess the goalies until we start playing better defensively. I thought we did a good job tonight. They had six scoring chances at five-on-five. We did a good job there.
He made some saves on the PK for us that were really good. The two goals came from distance. I would like to see him find a way to get one of those for us, especially when the guy at the other end is not giving you much. But I thought it was a good game and progress for Sammy in terms of finding his groove.
