Ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Ducks, Sheldon Keefe discussed the plan to start Martin Jones for the second consecutive game in a back-to-back, scratching Nick Robertson, and the team’s play against bottom-of-the-standings opposition.
Morning Skates Notes – January 3
Sheldon Keefe says Martin Jones will get the start again tonight in goal when Leafs visit the Ducks @BodogCA
— David Alter (@dalter) January 3, 2024
Pontus Holmberg will come into the lineup as another change.
Nick Robertson will be a scratch @BodogCA
— David Alter (@dalter) January 3, 2024
What is the plan in goal?
Keefe: Marty Jones will start tonight. He feels good coming off of last night. From our end, we are trying to build some positive momentum as a team. We had a good team effort last night. We are going to keep Jonesy going.
We had been talking even before the game last night about it. On a back-to-back, usually, you don’t go back to the same guy. It is worth a conversation. Especially given the unique circumstances — there was no travel last night and somewhat of a light load in the game by NHL standards — it was worth a discussion for sure.
In Hildeby’s case, we want to get him some experience and get him in the net at some point here. We are going to likely need him. The overriding thing for me is that we want to build some positive momentum as a team here with the way things have gone of late.
Given the unique circumstances of the back-to-back, it made it a pretty easy decision.
In the past, you have brought players up to give them a taste of the NHL in practice and on the road but have not gotten them into a game. Is it similar in terms of giving Hildeby some exposure even if he is not ready for a game yet?
Keefe: Every day in the NHL, for a guy who hasn’t been here before, is a chance to experience something new. I was looking at him down on the bench yesterday and thinking that for him, it was the first time sitting on an NHL bench watching an NHL game from that perspective. To keep doing that is a valuable experience for him.
We will see how things go in the next little while. We expect we are going to need him here at some point. We have to get him all of these experiences and let him soak it in. At the same time, we have to make the right decisions for our team and our group.
We have done this before. We played Erik Kallgren last season in a back-to-back when we were in a somewhat similar situation with Petruzzelli coming up. Jones has played back-to-back a bunch throughout his career.
To me, as back-to-backs go, it is as easy as you’re going to get when there isn’t travel involved.
How much has the team’s struggles against the teams at the bottom of the standings been a conversation for you and your players?
Keefe: It has been an ongoing conversation. I guess you could connect it to the goaltending situation. It is hard for us to have that conversation on one end, and on the other side, go with a goalie who has never played in the league when you have another guy coming off of a shutout.
That is definitely a part of it. We want to build positive momentum as a group, but in particular, in these types of games, we have to be ready. We have to be sharp. We have done pretty well off the start of these games in taking control of the game. We haven’t managed it well after that.
This team tonight is one — like any other — that you have to respect and be prepared for. Not long ago, just last week, they built Vegas in this building and built a 4-1 lead. They have beat Vegas, Carolina, and Boston. As with any team in the league, they can beat anyone on any given night. We have to respect that process and look to build off of what we did last night.
Are there any other lineup changes?
Keefe: Holmberg will go in for Robertson tonight. We were reluctant to make any changes because we played so well as a group last night, but Holmberg did a really good job in the Carolina game. We are looking for ways to keep him involved.
If there was anything last night I wasn’t happy with, I thought the Domi group could’ve given us a little bit more. We’ll get Holmberg back involved on the left wing with Max.
What is the key for that third unit?
Keefe: The key is to get out of their end and through the neutral zone. Once they are on the attack, they do well. That is where they had some troubles last night. They spent too much time in their own end. That is part of it.
Nick has been coming. He has scored a couple of goals of late. It is partly trying to give a boost to that line and partly that I thought Holmberg did a good job for us the other night and has something to offer, so we want to be able to utilize him.
As a smaller player, how do you think Nick Robertson is handling the physicality of the daily NHL grind?
Keefe: I think he has done a good job of it. In the Carolina game, there were some times when he was really digging in there physically.
There are some times taking care of the puck under pressure and the demands of the league… That is the big thing I have been talking to him about — trying to manage that piece. Those touches from the breakout to neutral zone and getting through onto the attack are really important to manage really well. That is where the next step is for Nick.
