On an off day on Tuesday, Sheldon Keefe discussed the contributions of John Tavares & Mitch Marner’s line through the first two games of the series, the challenge against Boston’s power play, and the latest on William Nylander.
What can John Tavares and Mitch Marner’s line do to generate a little more possession in the series?
Keefe: I have no issues with that line. They are doing a good job. I watched a bunch of forechecks this morning. Those guys are really working, competing, and creating a lot of pressure up ice, which is allowing them to spend less time in our end. I like a lot about what that group is doing.
Even last night, Mitch didn’t get on the sheet, but he made a few plays at different times to advance the puck and get us out of trouble. That is important. With the way the matchups roll right now, those guys are taking on some tough responsibility playing against Pastrnak. They have done a really good job of it.
We made one mistake on the faceoff last night, but aside from that, through two games, I like what we have gotten from that line. Each line is not going to roll every single night offensively. Their time will come in the series, but I have liked what they have done here defensively. They are a big part of last night’s win.
When Boston is able to roll out two even power-play units, how much more of a challenge does it pose?
Keefe: You have to see your way through the full two minutes for sure. They have things spread out pretty good. They have threats on both groups. We saw that in Game 1, where we thought we had done a good job in the first minute. On the second power-play goal they scored in Game 1, I think we had gotten down to around 1:50 of the kill, and they scored. You have to see your way through the full two minutes. I loved the way we did that last night in crunch time at the end.
How optimistic are you that you will have William Nylander available for Game 3?
Keefe: There is no update today. There is not much happening for us today besides getting ready to travel. He is a possibility for us tomorrow. That is all we would say.
How do you think the team has adjusted to Nylander’s absence?
Keefe: I don’t know if you necessarily adjust when you lose players. It affects you on special teams, right? The power play, especially. In Game 1, we went with Jarnkork. In Game 2, we went with Bert. You are trying to fill the void and find something that works there, and we liked the way it worked last night, but at five-on-five, you plug the hole. Jarnkork came back at the time we lost Willy, so that is helpful. You just press on.
In terms of our game or style of play, I don’t think you overthink that. It is playoff time. There is a certain style of play that is required whether Willy is in or not. We have done a pretty good job of that through two games. We have liked that.
Jim Montgomery mentioned that his team is not playing fast enough in transition. What have you done defensively to slow them down?
Keefe: Our pressure on the puck has been really good in all three zones. That has helped us keep the puck out of the middle of the ice and take away their time and space. That has been really important.
There have been times when they have found their way through. This is a really good team with a lot of elite players. They play with a lot of pace. They stress you defensively, too.
We like the job we have done and the style of hockey we have played, including in Game 1, at five-on-five. But we recognize the challenge ahead here. This is an elite team. We were happy to get the split on the road, but we have to get back home and be prepared for their pushback.
Assuming Boston goes back to Jeremy Swayman, he has been feeling good and has had your number this season. What is the key offensively to making his life more difficult?
Keefe: We were prepared to play against both goalies in this series, and that is how it has worked out here. Regardless of who is in the net, the plan remains the same: You have to get to the net, have traffic, create rebounds, and do all of the things that are required to score at this time of year.
We were able to get Auston in alone last night. We were in alone a couple of times in Game 1, although not quite as clean as that. You have to make good on those types of opportunities because they are very rare. Otherwise, you are just trying to stress whoever is in the net as much as you can with traffic, pucks flying in, pace, and all of those kinds of things.
Whoever we see in goal, the plan for us doesn’t change.
