Sheldon Keefe deserves a ton of credit through the first two playoff games

Keefe relied on his horses late in the game as Edmundson saw a ton of ice time in the third period. The Leafs coach shortened his bench and it worked. It’s also worth pointing out that after the Game 1 loss, Keefe went right back to Ilya Samsonov in net. He gave his starting netminder a chance to bounce back, much like we saw during the regular season and Samsonov returned the favour with his best game as a Maple Leaf. There was a lot of noise to start Joseph Woll in Game 2 and Keefe stuck it out and gave Samsonov his due. Smart coaching.

Another aspect of Keefe is the fact he’s loyal to all four lines and if the fourth line is creating energy and making an impact, he’ll lengthen their leash. That was the case in Game 2, as David Kampf, Connor Dewar and Ryan Reaves brought the pain. They were hitting everything that moved as Reaves ended the game with seven hits, Dewar with three. Reaves ended up playing close to 11 minutes in Game 2, which was more than both Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson.

Still Lots of Series Left and Decisions to Come

If William Nylander is available for Game 3, Keefe is going to need to figure out his lineup. Considering Reaves played more than Robertson and Holmberg, and considering the latter is a centre and can help kill penalties, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Robertson come out of the lineup once Nylander returns. The fourth line has been bringing a ton of energy, hasn’t been getting dominated in their own zone, and Keefe’s played them quite a bit, including in the later stages of the third period, so it’s very likely he keeps the trio together for now.

Robertson’s had a couple of looks and hasn’t been noticeably bad through the first couple of games, but as he knows, this Maple Leafs’ lineup is as deep as they’ve been in years and it’s a numbers game. Because he’s so one-dimensional, he’s limited to areas of impact and will be tough to dress once Nylander returns.

There’s also the d-core. Keefe has some major decisions to make when it comes to dressing TJ Brodie or not. Liljegren had a brutal Game 2 and could be an option to come out. Lyubushkin hardly played and could also be someone Keefe decides to sit for a game. Brodie’s had his struggles down the stretch, but if you’re going to use seven guys for six spots, perhaps you don’t want him sitting out for too long. Normally after a win, Keefe would run it back the same, but that may not be the case for Game 3.

While the Maple Leafs and Bruins have a rich history of playoff battles, this is Keefe’s first time being in the thick of it. Bruins forward Brad Marchand commented after Game 2 that this Leafs team is playing for keeps, they are committed and it’s going to be a good challenge.