Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins which dropped the team’s record to 10-6-3.
On the difference in the game:
They scored three. We scored two. It is a pretty even game throughout. They dominated the second period. We dominated the third period. They got the puck to go in, and we didn’t.
On the performance of the top line:
I thought they were good. Those guys had lots of jump. They were on the attack. No issues with them.
On whether he is noticing frustration kicking in from Mitch Marner:
Guys want to score. Guys want to win. I thought that line was good today.
It is interesting, right? We are getting all sorts of questions about these guys. I think we can all agree they can play better. They have set such a high standard, and yet here we are. One of the many reports I get before every game — I am reading through them before every game — is our five-on-five scoring this season. At the top of the list is Mitch Marner.
He is a guy who hasn’t played his best hockey and has all the hardest matchups every single night, and yet he is at the top of our team in five-on-five scoring. It is interesting how it all works out.
We will stick with building our group and building our game. Let’s not pile on the negatives here.
On the back-breaking goal against late in the second period:
We were almost out of the period with it all even. It is a tough one to give up.
To me, the tougher one to give up is the second one. We had full possession of that puck. Our D gets it in our forward’s hands, and we have a chance for a very clean breakout. Instead, we give it back to the defenseman again and compound the problem. It ends up in our net.
To me, that is the game right there.
On the decision to go 11 and 7:
Just had some question marks on defense in the back-to-back. We wanted to insulate guys. Timmins is trying to get back up to speed. On the back-to-back, we didn’t want to necessarily take him out of the lineup, but I thought we could benefit from having an extra guy there.
On forward, I just thought it would allow us to keep a better rhythm with keeping 11 guys involved. Really, it was based on having extra support on defense.
