Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals which improved the team’s record to 4-2-0.
On how the team pulled out the two points:
I would say it was on the backs of very strong goaltending, timely scoring, and a good disciplined third period. At times, it was not great, but there were a lot of things in the third period that we can build on in terms of managing leads.
On what stood out about Joseph Woll’s performance:
Just how composed he was and yet athletic at the same time. He is composed and under control, and there were some saves that required a great deal of athleticism to make a sort of desperation type of save. He tracks the puck, he finds it, and he has the flexibility, strength, and athleticism to get there. It was impressive.
On the importance of the successful goaltending interference challenge with the game at 0-0, and why he used the timeout before challenging:
It is obviously a big moment in the game. It gives us a chance to regroup after that. Ultimately, we score first, so now we are ahead on the scoreboard versus chasing a game. To that end, it is big.
In terms of the timeout, in the time I was allotted, I wasn’t confident at the time. I needed some time to process it. Some of our communication with our video coaches — there was some uncertainty.
I did recognize that it was a big moment. I thought there was a good chance that it could come back, but those ones are tricky. It wasn’t really about getting another view or anything like that. It was more about getting a little more time to process it all.
On what sold him on finally making the challenge:
It was just the debate on whether Ovechkin driving through really impeded Joe’s ability to make a save or recover. Those are tough ones to call, but the guys felt strongly that it was. It took some time to convince me of it. I have seen a lot of those go the other way.
Credit to them and our process in terms of the timeout and taking some time to breathe. It is a pretty stressful situation. The referees are under a mandate to get the game going. It is a big moment for us to get it right or at least have a good process to give ourselves a chance to get it right. Fortunately, this one paid off.
On Tavares and Nylander’s consistent offensive contributions so far this season:
It is great. It is a big moment in the second period for them to really swing the game in our favour. We didn’t play a good game here tonight, but did enough good things to put ourselves in a position to win the game.
There were a lot of good things in the third period that we can take away in terms of managing a game like this when we do have control.
Certainly, our quick-strike ability with our elite players puts us in positions like this to win games even when we are not at our best.
