The Toronto Maple Leafs kept rolling last night with a commanding 6-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, a win that entered new head coach Sheldon Keefe in the history books. Keefe became the first head coach in Toronto's storied history to win each of his first three games of his NHL career.
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Keefe remained humble when asked about the feat following the win over Detroit. “It's better than the alternative,” was all he would say about it.
But it's about more than just the wins, although that's obviously very important. Since ditching Mike Babcock and hiring Keefe, Toronto had led the NHL in possession, scoring chance share and expected goals (67.9%). The powerplay and penalty kill are also both in the top 10. It's also worth noting that Toronto's 42 shots on goal through the first two periods of last night's game marked just the fourth time since shots by period was officially tracked (1965-66) that the club recorded 40 or more shots after 40 minutes of play. Simply put, the Leafs aren't just winning, they're looking like the dominant force many analysts thought they could be at the beginning of the season.
So, what's different now under Keefe? Freddie Andersen summed it up nicely after the win over the Red Wings.
"You see how much the skill shows. Guys are playing very free and enjoying it a lot and making really good plays. The more we can have the puck, the better. Teams get tired ... it's hard to defend when you have that much skill and moving around that much,” he told reporters.
The main point is the players seem to be enjoying the game again. As the old saying goes, when you enjoy what you do, you'll never have to work a day in your life. Right now, the Leafs appear to be loving what they do.
