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Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Sabres, Sheldon Keefe discussed the decision to start Ilya Samsonov in Buffalo despite his struggles this season, Mark Giordano’s injury timeline, and the contributions of the team’s depth players through 30 games.

Morning Skate Lines – Dec. 21

What was behind the decision to start Ilya Samsonov in goal?

Keefe: Well, he has to play. We have to get him going here. That is really it.

How encouraging was it to see Mark Giordano on the ice? Do you have an update on the timeline for his return?

Keefe: It is encouraging. Great to see him out. He is progressing very well. He won’t play before Christmas. The timeline points more to him being day-to-day as we return from the Christmas break.

How happy are you with your depth players and bottom six forwards through 30 games?

Keefe: I think we have been getting lots from those guys on the production side, and the confidence in those groups has improved over time so that we can play them at times against the other team’s better players.

We have been kind of forced into those situations a lot more recently. We just finished playing New York twice in the span of a week. They play their bottom six guys against our top guys as much as they possibly can. Against an opponent that does such a thing, you are forced into either disrupting the rhythm of some of your best people or you go with some of those matchups and you then have to trust some of your bottom-six guys to play against some of the opposition’s best people.

I felt more confident doing that here of late. When Knies is out, Gregor is able to go up and elevate. For the most part, we have been happy with what we have gotten from those guys.

Has Gregor been something of a revelation this season given how he had to earn his spot off of a PTO in camp?

Keefe: A little bit coming in and not knowing a great deal about him other than to say there was great confidence from the management team in signing him and bringing him in that he could fit in well for us.

To that end, we had expectations that he could be an effective player for us. It has taken time to figure out just how best we can or should use him. He has taken a bigger role on the penalty kill. That has been hugely important for us. He is playing both wings, scoring goals at important times, and being a threat with his speed.

That has been really good for us.

Through the injuries on the blue line, you had been keeping the Rielly – Brodie pairing consistent. What led to the change in the top four?

Keefe: It is a combination of things. The biggest thing is probably rooted in Liljegren’s arrival coming back. We are looking at some different things there. Through the time that Liljegren was out as well as Timmins for a good chunk of time, we have played McCabe more on the right side and have become more comfortable with that.

It gives us the ability to look at some different things. We started the other day with McCabe on the left with Liljegren as well as Rielly-Brodie. After the first period, we felt we wanted to change it up. We ended up going with more of what we have today through most of the game the other night.

It had been on our mind. We just thought that maybe giving Liljegren a little more time to get comfortable would be helpful to him. But we don’t have a lot of time in the NHL, and we just felt we needed to make that adjustment. We want to be able to see this a little bit longer.

What kind of challenge do the Sabres present? They’re struggling, but there is plenty of talent on the team.

Keefe: Very talented team. They have lots of game-breakers on forward. They have lots of skill. They have size, too — a lot of their best people are some of the biggest guys in the league both on forward and D.

There is a lot to handle there. They have two first-overall picks on defense. One or the other is on the ice virtually at all times. There are some significant challenges there.

We seem to get their best when we play these guys. They have already taken two points from us this season. We are expecting a tough game.

How much can the road support for the Leafs in a place like Buffalo influence the game on the ice?

Keefe: The real answer is probably that it doesn’t affect it a whole lot. In terms of your preparation and going into the game, I don’t think it is much of a factor.

Once the game gets going, it can be a factor. Whether it is the response to a goal, it can kind of help you get momentum or keep momentum. If you start to build some positive energy or momentum in the game, the energy in the building rises for the road trip, and I think that can be a factor.

I don’t think it is much of anything going into the game, but it is more about how we can perform on the ice to kind of get them going and have it become a bit of an advantage for us. If nothing else, maybe it is something that works against the home team.

How much is the challenge heightened when there is the urgency of a team that’s at a crisis point? Fans are booing the team and calling for the coach to be fired. Does it heighten your awareness to be ready for the game?

Keefe: Every game that we have played Buffalo in my time here, it seems like we have gotten their best, and thus it has had our attention coming into the game. I think they have a lot of great young players and elements to their team. They play really well against us.

I don’t think it changes anything other than to say, like any time in the NHL, whatever happens in the games leading up to the one you are preparing for, you usually have to expect an adjustment. We just played New York the other night on home ice after giving it to them pretty well in MSG, so the expectation is that they were going to play a much better and tighter game.

That is just sort of the nature of the NHL. It is why you don’t see games like the one Buffalo [lost] the other night happen with regularity. The league is too good. The teams and the players just adjust and are better the next time out.

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