"Baffling, frankly": Keefe disappointed in Leafs after Game 2 loss
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was not in much of a talking mood after Thursday night’s loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Leafs, who now find themselves down 2-0 in the series, scored twice in the first six minutes of the game, while Florida rebounded at the end of the first and the start of the second to take a 3-2 lead, which they carried into the third.
“Disappointing. Baffling, frankly,” said Keefe when describing his team’s collapse. “We didn’t make those mistakes one time in the last series.”
After Thursday’s game, Toronto is 1-4 in front of their home crowd this postseason. Keefe says the inability to claw their way back in a game is something he didn’t see last round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“The difference, I would say, just looking at these two games and not so much last series: We didn’t find our way back,” the coach told reporters. “This one is disappointing. We were rolling early in the game. We just gave it back to them. Those are things we haven’t done, and frankly, you just can’t do if you are serious about winning.”
The coach stayed tight-lipped when asked for an update on the condition of Toronto rookie Matthew Knies, who was forced to leave the game after the first period with an injury sustained when Florida forward Sam Bennett took him to the ice in a headlock.
“I don’t have an update on his status. He didn’t complete the game, so that is not positive,” he said. “In terms of the hit, I am not going to comment on that. The league will look at that.”
Before the media availability ended, Keefe was asked about the state of starting goalie Ilya Samsonov’s game. He replied, simply saying, “he’s fine.”
Samsonov, who has 3.27 GAA and .895 SV% in these playoffs, made headlines after answering a question about the performance of Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m doing my work, and he’s doing his work,” Samsonov told reporters after the game on Thursday. “I don’t give a f**k.”
With frustration mounting, the Leafs head to Florida for Game 3, with puck drop set for 6:30 pm ET on Sunday afternoon.
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