Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 7-1 win over the San Jose Sharks which improved the team’s record to 21-10-7.
On whether there was as complete of a game as the team has played in a while:
I don’t know. We have played some good games of late, but it is a good game for sure.
It is nice to see us get rewarded with some offense here today. We didn’t convert where we would have liked to, so the games were a lot closer when we were on the road, but to me, we played a very similar game to what we have been playing of late.
On what he has learned about the team in the last couple of weeks:
We have always known what we are capable of, but we have just found a groove. We found some comfort in playing close games.
We came out of that Columbus game, and I thought we played a good game in that one, but it is a mess, right? You give up six and lose the game. It gets the team’s attention. You get a chance as a coach to get the team’s attention. No one likes that. You don’t feel good coming out of that game.
Things just kind of snapped into place. Over 82 games, you snap into one of these stretches where things go well, you are feeling good, and you are in a groove. And then you get some stretches where you just can’t quite get it. You are out of sorts.
Right now, we are in a good groove. We are feeling good about how we have performed here of late. The schedule is going to get busier and more difficult for the rest of the month, so we have to keep building on this.
On what has clicked into place for the team of late:
We have spent way less time in our zone in this last stretch — way less time. We have moved it out way more efficiently. I just think we have defended hard. We haven’t made the big mistake.
At times, we get up in games, and then we allow teams to score at inopportune times or we put ourselves in a bad spot. We haven’t made those mistakes. We haven’t been perfect, but we certainly haven’t given them anything for free in this stretch.
In the NHL, the other team is going to make plays. They are going to get some looks at your net. It is never going to be perfect, but we have done a good job of limiting our mistakes. As a result, you limit what you give up.
When we do make mistakes, we have been getting saves. That just settles the team, too. To me, that is why it has been so important to keep Jones going here. He is a part of this. It is not just the team in front of him. It has all fit in. Everyone has done their job. I think the team feels good right now.
On Nick Robertson’s first game back in the lineup:
It was good. It was a good game for him to play here. We have the puck a ton. As we saw from the Domi line when we were down in San Jose, there were some real favourable matchups out there that they can take advantage of. They did that.
Nick looked confident. He made plays. He scored the goal in the third period, but before that, he was making some plays and attacking space. It is a good game for those guys to find some puck time and confidence — Holmberg, too. In these last two games, [Holmberg] really looks like he is coming alive and is comfortable with the puck with his skating and his strength with the puck.
Gregor didn’t play tonight — he was sick — but Kampf and McMann have been excellent for this entire stretch since Kampf has come back in the lineup. That is another thing where things have just fallen into place since that has occurred. All the way throughout the team, we are getting good efforts.
On Pontus Holmberg’s goal:
He is not the biggest guy, but he is strong. He is strong on the puck. He is not easy to take the puck from. He is great in possession that way at transporting the puck up the ice. He has the confidence to make a play.
We like him. We talk about his versatility. Tonight, I moved him down to the Kampf line to play the right wing. In his last three games, he has played center, left wing, and now right wing. He has that versatility. We’ve felt that he has more to offer us than what he has given through the season when we have used him.
It was the Carolina game that he played before that, if I remember correctly. Whatever it was, in the game before the one he played in San Jose, I liked a lot from him. We wanted to get him back in, which is why we have seen him back in the lineup.
On Mitch Marner’s comment that Holmberg is “annoying” to play against:
The players usually see it clearly. They get it. They also practice against these guys. If he is saying he is annoying to play against, I am sure he is feeling that in practice. He is on top of them. He is strong. He leans on you. You can feel that strength.
He is above the puck. He has good defensive instincts, which gives you the confidence as a coach to put him on the ice. I think he has more offense, too. We saw that at different times last season and this season. He can make a play. He can protect the puck.
Maybe he doesn’t always create a scoring chance, but he can win a shift for you and keep it down in the offensive zone, which you can do a lot with as a coach. It can help you control a game.
On whether he ever stops to consider that the likes of Marner, Nylander, and Matthews will be remembered as some of the best ever to play for the Leafs:
I don’t know if I have ever zoomed out on it like that, but there is no doubt. I grew up here. I have been watching the Leafs my whole life. There have been some great players to come through here, but these guys are special. They are homegrown. We are very fortunate to have these guys. No doubt.
