Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 shootout win over the New York Rangers which improved the team’s record to 35-17-8.
On Ilya Lyubushkin’s status:
He didn’t finish the game. He has a head injury. We will have to get him figured out.
On the Matt Rempe hit on Lyubushkin:
He comes a long way, leaves his feet, and hits him in the head. Injury.
Morgan Rielly (repeat offender) has been suspended 8 games for Matt Rempe's high hit to the head on Ilya Lyubushkin, with one game handed out to Calgary's Nazem Kadri for the incident as well. https://t.co/PiVn2CuvcC
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) March 3, 2024
On Ryan Reaves fighting Rempe in the third period:
I thought it was good, especially considering the guy knocked one of our guys out of the game.
Injuring players is starting to get up to as many as the fights now.
I liked that Reavo stepped up.
On the team’s performance:
It is a good game both ways. I liked a lot of things about our game. I thought our guys played hard and found ways to score against a good defensive team and a good goaltender. It was a good game.
On whether it was a playoff-type atmosphere:
It is a tight game. Great players on the other side. Good goaltending. Tough special teams.
It is a tough hockey game. We get down in the game, but we come back and then get ourselves a lead. We give it up. It is a good game.
Playoff time is not going to get settled in overtime or shootout like this one was, but it was a good game for sure. It was a good Saturday right from the start of the game. The crowd was into it. It was good.
On the message to William Nylander with the first-period benching and Nylander’s response:
I loved how he responded for sure. I thought he competed hard and dug in.
Willy knows what we need from him in that moment. I have coached Willy for a long time. I met with that line yesterday. There were some very specific things. That wasn’t it. That is the way it goes.
I love the way he responded for sure. Great goal — an important goal for us — but I thought he dug in and competed a lot harder.
On the key to keeping it cleaner defensively for the Domi-Nylander line:
It is just recognizing when it is time to defend, it is time to defend. That is really it. We want them to push on offense. They are great players who have played well for us, but when it is time to defend, you have to dig in and defend.
We got going on the offensive side there. That is the kind of stuff that can’t happen for all of our players. We need to be fully committed on defense when we are defending, especially against good teams like this that counterpunch the way that they do.
We made a mistake on the second goal as well. We gave up that odd-man rush by losing numbers coming back.
We were able to recover from those, but the first two goals are mistakes that we can prevent or not make. The second one is pretty innocent in nature. On the first one, we were cheating for offense there. It is not the time or place.
On whether this game was a continuation of Ilya Samsonov’s recent play or a step up in performance:
I would say it is a continuation, but certainly, the stakes are high today. There was not a lot of margin there and a great goaltender at the other end.
I thought he got better through the game as the game got tighter and everything. They scored 6-on-5, but there was zero he could do on that play. I thought he got better. There was the OT and the shootout, too.
He was great. He looked extremely confident and comfortable in that moment.
On Calle Jarnkrok’s first game back:
He was really good for a guy who hasn’t played. Sometimes, when guys don’t play, you’re rusty, and the timing has to come around for you. But you have energy. The league is hard. As some guys start to wear down a little bit, he came in and had lots of energy today.
I thought he was great. That line with Tavares and McMann was outstanding from the start of the game all the way through.
On the message to Nick Robertson after he was sent down to the AHL today:
I didn’t talk to him about going down to the Marlies. That is more roster-related. I spoke to him this morning about why he was coming out of the lineup. Obviously, Jarnkrok was coming back, so that is that, but also, guys have played well around him. Holmberg has played well, McMann has played well, and Reaves has played extremely well.
The message to him is that the league is hard. It is hard to score consistently. I think he is learning that. Also, when you are not going to score, now your game has to be very well-rounded. That part of it is coming.
He has played well for us. A lot of his best hockey he has played for us is when he has come in after being out of our lineup. He has come in and has given us a boost of energy. That is when he has played at his best.
His opportunity will come back around. He will do the same thing for us. That is what he has done. Just keep building on that, and recognizing that coming out is not a reflection of his play necessarily. It is more of a numbers game.
A great player like Jarnkrok is coming back in and other guys who are in similar situations to him have done really well. With the way their roles line up, they are not coming out right now.
