Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks which dropped the team’s record to 22-14-8.
On his biggest takeaways from the game:
Zero points.
On the team’s slow start:
I thought our first two shifts were good. We had good life and energy on the first two shifts. Even on the third shift where we got scored on, we started well. We were on their half of the ice playing in their zone. And then three or four times we don’t get the puck out or make a play with the puck. We give it back to them.
Jonesy has a chance to freeze the puck and end everything for us. It gets away on him. Now, we are just defending tired. They outcompeted us at our net.
That was a bit of a theme of the game on their goals: them outcompeting us around our net. I didn’t like that.
Aside from that, I thought in the second half of the first period and probably for the remainder of the game, at worst, the game is even. For the most part, I thought we were the better team and did a lot of good things. We ended up out-shooting them pretty significantly in the game, even in the back half of the first period.
As much as we fight back — which I loved, and I liked a lot of the things we did in the second period — we can’t spot a team three and expect to win, especially a top team in the league.
On Martin Jones’ game of late:
I think Jonesy has been fine. We have to do a better job in front of him.
On where the penalty kill needs to tighten up:
The first kill in the third period was excellent. We scored a goal, but it was not just that. We did a good job of limiting their chances.
They got us twice. On one, we are right there, but it goes off of a skate. We have to do a better job of not letting that puck get through. On the second one, we got too far extended away from our net. That can’t happen. Those are little details that cost you games.
