Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs practice
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After Friday’s practice, Sheldon Keefe further discussed the blowout loss to Buffalo.

Practice Lines – Dec. 22

What was your approach to practice coming off of a loss like the one in Buffalo? Did you spend time looking back on it?

Keefe: We spent significant time on yesterday as a coaching staff. Not as much time when we got in front of the players, but we certainly talked about it and went through it. We made it very clear what was unacceptable yesterday and why the game goes the way that it does. You are honest about that.

Given the short amount of time here with playing tomorrow, you have to get out on the ice and look to fix it.

You’ve mentioned that the team hasn’t had the puck as much as last year. Does a game like last night reinforce the message that you can’t always come back and you need to control the game over 60 minutes?

Keefe: I am more focused on the fact that it was a highway to our net. We have to make it way harder for teams to get to our net.

At times this season, we have done that very well. I thought we went through about a 10-game stretch probably somewhere around game 10-20 where I thought we were defending really well and really slowing things up.

Of late, we have regressed in that area. We have been finding ways to get results and scoring, so some of that stuff hasn’t hurt us necessarily, but it has been lingering.

Last night was a combination of us not being good and then playing against a good team. I look at it back, and from player to player through their roster, on pure talent and skill, that might have as good of a team as we have played all season.

The results haven’t been as strong as other teams in the league, but if you look at the skill level that they have, if you have a night where you defend like we do, that is what it is going to look like.

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