"I found it quite loud": Keefe shuts down criticism of Leafs' home crowd
Down 2-1 in a best-of-seven against the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing tough questions on all fronts.
While their play has been scrutinized following a loss in Game 3 on Wednesday, so has the enthusiasm levels of Toronto’s hometown crowd, with longtime Leafs radio announcer Joe Bowen calling it “disappointing” after the game.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about the atmosphere — or lack thereof — at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday and was quick to defend Leafs fans.
“I found it quite loud in there last night, and there’s a number of times that it’s hard even calling out lines,” Keefe said when asked about Bowen’s comments by reporters after practice on Thursday. “You’ve got to scream lines, and you’ve got to kind of move up and down the bench to make sure players are hearing and communicating properly. That was the same in Boston, and we experienced that last night as well.”
The bench boss added that he had no issue with the cheering in question, saying it didn’t even cross his mind as he struggled to communicate with players over the noise.
“From my perspective, I didn’t see that as an issue at all. In fact, there were some moments in the game where they got extremely loud, but clearly that’s important,” he explained. “It’s this time of year, it’s hard and there’s not much between the teams, and the players are giving everything that they have. So that extra boost is really important, but that wasn’t on my mind at all last night.”
Hoping for even more crowd engagement to help them tie up the series, the Leafs return to Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night for Game 4.
Leafs 2024 first-round playoff schedule
- Game 4: Saturday, April 27, Boston at Toronto, 8 pm ET
- Game 5: Tuesday, April 30, Toronto at Boston, TBD
- Game 6: Thursday, May 2, Boston at Toronto, TBD*
- Game 7: Saturday, May 4, Toronto at Boston, TBD*
*if necessary
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