Sheldon Keefe wants Leafs players to remember Battle of Ontario loss
Breadcrumb Trail Links NHL Hockey members of the Ottawa Senators celebrate after their team’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena January 27, 2023. Photo by Nick Turchiaro / Sport Article Content USA TODAY
Forget this loss, Maple Leafs, but maybe take your time with it.
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The Leafs didn’t have many bad efforts at Scotiabank Arena in 2022-23 and certainly none had the sort of smell compared to what happened on Friday night.
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The Leafs were lousy on every count ahead of surprise goalie Ilya Samsonov, who lost 6-2 to the Ottawa Senators.
It was only the Leafs’ fourth home loss this season. Arizona, Pittsburgh and Seattle also beat the Leafs in Toronto in 60 minutes.
Coach Sheldon Keefe wanted his players, whether they were keen on home ice, to remember the final chapter of the Battle of Ontario that didn’t result in a quarrel on the Leafs’ part.
“I think you want it eaten in your group,” Keefe said. “You can’t lose like that on home ice. You can’t have a goalkeeper who gave us absolutely everything, gets into a difficult situation and then has such a performance in front of him in the second and third periods.
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“You can’t have that. It shall eat us. But we’ll soon forget it because we have another game ahead of us (on Sunday at home against Washington). In a few weeks we won’t remember anything. There’s definitely a lot to learn about it here at the moment.”
CONTINUE TO PLAY
The backbreaker was the result of the cleverness of captain Brady Tkachuk, who scored just after reading to intercept a pass from Justin Holl behind the Leafs’ net. The goal, at 3:31 of the third for a 5-2 Ottawa lead, was Tkachuk’s second of the game and put the game out of Toronto’s reach… When Michael Bunting and Tkachuk were penalized for being 37 seconds in the game, we thought we could have had a bad night. That’s not what turned out … Mitch Marner’s assist on William Nylander’s power-play goal in the second was his 40th and marked his seventh straight season with at least 40. Only two players in Leafs history — Darryl Sittler (nine) and Borje Salming (seven) – previously had 40 assists in seven straight seasons… A rare end-to-end onslaught from Alex Kerfoot was what allowed Joey Anderson to be open and score his second goal of the season by going Game 1 – 1 in the first period… Pontus Holmberg’s six penalty minutes, including a double penalty for high-sticking, matched the six minutes he accumulated in his first 30 games… Nothing went right for the Leafs on Drake Batherson’s goal, which it 4- made 2. Defensive coverage was poor, to say the least, and the Sens’ precheck was particularly hard on Bobby McMann and Rasmus Sandin… When the zero next to Morgan Rielly’s name in de r crevice eats up the defender, Keefe didn’t see it. “He doesn’t give me a sense of how he walks through the facility, his mood or the energy he brings to the games,” Keefe said. “I think it’s natural that you want one to fall.”
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Article content LOOSE LEAVES
Nylander — not the Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov or anyone else — should have been Auston Matthew’s replacement for the All-Star Game… The Leafs will host their 43rd annual Skate for Easter Seals Kids Saturday at the Ford Performance Center. In the past, the event has raised $7.3 million to empower children with physical disabilities. “It’s an opportunity to reach some fans that you don’t interact with on a daily or constant basis at games,” Rielly said. “It puts things into perspective for us to understand how much support we have and what kind of support we have. It’s a good opportunity for people who have never experienced it before to be a part of it and understand why it’s important to our team. It’s a bit of a perspective and you’re leaving quite grateful.” … Whether defenseman TJ Brodie will return to the Leafs’ lineup ahead of All-Star break/bye week is yet to be determined. Brodie has not played since January 7 due to a rib injury but has been on the ice with his teammates. “He’s trending toward a return and that conversation is going on,” Keefe said. “Like any player, no matter what the schedule says, if he’s 100% and feeling good and ready, I don’t think we would hold him back. But if he’s less than 100%, he wouldn’t be in it.” … Defenseman Victor Mete (lower body) fielded a solo skate Friday morning and is making progress, but there hasn’t been a set timeline for his return, Keefe said. Mete has been out since being injured in Dallas on Dec. 6.
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