Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the ECQF playoff series.
On where the game went wrong:
There are a few things. Little mistakes at very important times end up in our net. In general, I just didn’t think we got to our game nearly as much tonight as we did in the others.
Credit to Boston. They played hard and made it hard to get through the neutral zone. I didn’t think we did enough to manage through that.
On how the team can contain Brad Marchand:
You have to play through it. You have to recognize it is a world-class player both in ability and in how he plays with the gamesmanship and everything. It is world-class. He has been in the league long enough that, as you can see, he gets calls. It is unbelievable, actually, how it goes.
We have to play through that stuff. I don’t think there is another player in this series who gets away with taking out Bertuzzi’s legs like he does. There isn’t another player in this series that gets away with that, but he does. It is an art. He is elite at it.
We have to manage our way through that and avoid putting ourselves in situations where he can put us in those spots. As far as his game, I think we have managed that pretty well for the most part. Obviously, tonight, we made a mistake at a key time that allowed him to get the winner.
On the adjustments required offensively:
The power play is a big part of it. We get to two tonight. The power play needs to get you one to get you to three if not four, and then it is a good night offensively in the playoffs against an elite defensive team like they are and in the type of game it is. It is a big part of it. The power play has to find ways to get one in.
I thought the power play was alright tonight; it had some good looks in tight to the net that we didn’t make good on. But we have to find a way to get those in. At the same time, you need the kill. Special teams, again, were a major factor in the game tonight.
On where the team needs to tighten up on the penalty kill:
We just have to do a better job of the details. If you break down each goal, it is a different mistake at different times. Today, we are sealing the wall. We lose the battle. We get beat 3-on-1 coming off of the wall. It can’t happen.
It hasn’t been the same thing. It has been different things that have led to goals against. We have to find a way through that.
On whether the team could benefit from the extra day off with the current health situations on the roster:
For sure. Not just guys who aren’t playing but some of the guys who are playing. Some guys gave us a lot today and have given us a lot through this series, and they could absolutely benefit from a day off with some of the things they have been going through.
It is going to benefit Boston as well. That is the beauty of the playoffs. The schedule is the same for everyone.
Coming off of a loss, it gives us a chance to take a breath and regroup. It has been a lot of hockey for us since we left to go out on the road to finish the regular season until now. It has been a lot of hockey for our guys. We have played hard. At times, we have played well. Today, we did not play well enough to get the win.
