Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers which improved the team’s record to 28-16-8.
On whether anything surprises him about Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring abilities at this point:
No, we know by now he is an exceptional player. In the year that he got 60, the tear that he was on toward the end of the season — it seems like he has been on that all season to this point.
It is exceptional. There is not much else to say. Game-changing tonight.
On what turned the game in the team’s favour:
I thought our pace went up a lot in the second period. The second period, by nature — with the long changes and such — usually opens the game up a little bit more. I thought that worked to our benefit and really got us skating.
Our pace increased, and we got through the neutral zone a lot better than in the first period. Our battle level — we started to come up with pucks.
I thought Auston was the catalyst for it. It was not just because he shot the puck in the net. It was just the way he competed and won loose pucks. I thought he was a beast for us in that second period to really get us going and set the example of what was required.
We had a lot of guys that really picked up their game from there.
On Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner factoring in on 211 goals together, how the chemistry has grown, and what makes their connection special:
It is hard to say I have seen it grow. I think the growth happened a long time ago. There is just a comfort level there. Their games complement each other very well, obviously. They are just two very good players who play at a high level.
We talked about Auston and how exceptional it is with his ability to score. Mitch has an exceptional ability to make plays and find him. At the same time, they both do a lot of good things away from the puck and in the different zones to make sure they are on offense a lot.
All of that comes together. When they are at their best, they are hard to stop. They change games for us.
On Timothy Liljegren stepping up with big minutes (24:25):
We had to use Lily a lot tonight. We leaned on him a lot because of the nature of the spot he was playing in and how the game was going.
We put him on the first-unit power play today, so right away, that ups his minutes. They probably go too high, quite honestly, into that third period. I thought we started to see some of the effects of that.
I thought he did a nice job for us. He did well on the power play and at five-on-five. It is a good step for him for sure.
On the current confidence level in Ilya Samsonov:
He was great. He battled hard. They got to our net a lot more than we got to theirs tonight. Sammy had to do a really good job of standing tall in there and battling.
You don’t like to see the two go in the third. He deserves better than that, but it was no fault of his. We have to do a better job in front of him.
Between our play on the wall that led to the first goal and the two penalties late in the third period, it spoiled a good third period. We were going well and weren’t giving up very much. We were in full control of the game, and then we let our guard down to slip a bit and allow them to get the second goal.
There was a penalty before that and a penalty after that. We let them get their momentum going, but I loved how we kept our composure with what was remaining on the clock to make sure we got to overtime and got our point.
We were very composed in overtime and controlled things. With the way Auston and Mitch took care of the puck, got a line change with possession, and allowed fresh guys to go out and play against tired people, it allowed us to win the game in overtime.
Those were subtle little plays where they won’t get credit for a point on it, but it was a big moment in the game, too. Despite the fact that they shot the puck in the net a lot as a tandem, that decision to give up on the play and get fresh people out there — so that we are playing fresher than the opponent — was a really big moment in the overtime that let us win the game.
On the team finding a way to navigate the ups and downs of the game and come out with the result:
It was 60-plus minutes tonight.
The first period didn’t go our way. That (Flyers) team is playing hard. They are winning a lot of games for good reason. They have a lot of speed on forward and defense. They are very mobile. They have lots of skill, but they play hard and they make it really difficult to get to their net.
We had to really wear them down for Auston to get his scoring chance that led to the first goal. I don’t know how long the shift was for Sanheim, but we really had to earn that. There were two or three different lines that had earned that opportunity to the point where they lost structure.
Those are the kinds of things you need to do to win these types of games against teams like this. They play extremely well. Torts has them going. They have a playoff mindset and mentality. You have to really stay with it.
I thought our guys did that — both to get the game in our control and when we gave it back at the end, to make sure we got our points.
On Simon Benoit’s continued emergence:
He has been very important. He is becoming a very popular teammate as well both in his personality and with how he plays. How he plays allows his personality to come through and come out. It allows him to be comfortable. He knows he is a meaningful piece of our team.
He is just a competitor and also such a great defender. He is in your way. He has a good stick on you.
I have to be careful. The last time I talked really positively about him, I thought he had his worst game the next time out. But he has been tremendous for us.
He is a really fun guy to coach. He wants to work. He wants to learn. He asks questions. He has a good personality. He comes here with a smile. I think he is having a lot of fun.
