Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs morning skate
Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs practice
Advertisement

Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Blue Jackets, Sheldon Keefe discussed his switch on the right wing in the top six, the play of his third line of late, and Bobby McMann’s performances down the lineup.

Morning Skate Notes – Dec. 23

What is the focus right now besides the obvious of playing better defensively?

Keefe: Outside of the defensive play, it is about taking charge of the game offensively. When we started in Buffalo the other night, in the first 10 minutes or so, I really liked our start. We were on their half of the ice a lot. We had the puck in good spots a lot.

Despite the fact that we scored two goals in the first period and had a 2-1 lead, I thought we had even more opportunities to stress the goaltender, get to the inside, and attack the net. When we are at our best, we do that as well or better than anybody.

It has taken us too long in recent games to get to that. That is an important piece. With better defensive play, it should allow us to take control of the game early.

Max Domi’s line has been pretty consistently together for a while now. What have you made of Domi’s play and that of his line in general over the last month or so?

Keefe: The line itself has been okay for us. Max himself is doing what he does. When he gets a chance to make a play, he’s made a play. He scored a big goal for us on the power play the other night. He had a big night against Pittsburgh when we needed him to step up in Matthews’ absence.

The line itself… I talked over the last day or so about making some changes there as well and kind of shaking things up. Ultimately, I just decided to go back with Nylander next to Tavares as my main change. The line itself, especially as we are on the road again tonight, is on my mind a bit.

As I zoom out and look at it as a whole, the line has been productive for us, but I am not necessarily happy with where it is trending.

What makes you feel like now is the right time to go back with Nylander next to Tavares?

Keefe: Just looking at it again on the road, I find that Matthews generally is going to get all of the attention, the toughest matchups, and the most focus and game planning. Nylander away from Matthews presents some additional challenges for the opposition.

Probably the biggest thing is that we are coming off a couple of losses here. Despite the fact that Matthews has been scoring consistently, I don’t know if I would say Willy has been a huge contributor to those goals. I believe that Auston could still continue to be Auston and work well no matter who we have him with.

The Tavares and Bertuzzi line (with Nylander) has been the best line we have had all season when they’ve been together. We had them together against Pittsburgh not long ago, which of course was a great night for us. When I am looking at changing things up, it is something I naturally go to, but the rest of the lines are on my mind as well.

How are you seeing the play of Bobby McMann in general as he looks to fortify his spot?

Keefe: The more he has played, he is getting more comfortable.

His line, in particular, was a real standout for us in that first period in Buffalo. They really came on for us. Some of the best clips that we showed our group yesterday were that line doing work and showing how effective it was.

We need more of that type of play from all of our lines. When they are skating, forechecking, and working like that away from the puck, our more talented offensive lines are going to be able to really thrive.

Bobby is skating. He is on the puck. I have found a couple of things when he was on the ice for a couple of goals against that I didn’t like the other night. To me, it is in some ways a byproduct of him giving so much energy into his shifts early — and he needs to; he is on top of the puck — but late in his shift, he looks tired and is starting to make some mistakes. To me, it is about maintaining that level of play and finding the right time to get off the ice and hand it off to others.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR