Sheldon Keefe Blames Himself For Leafs Loss To Flyers

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Graham Montgomery
March 20, 2024 (10:33)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs Lost 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers last night. The Team made a valiant comeback effort, but ultimately ran out of time to make up for their poor start. Head coach Sheldon Keefe took the blame himself.

Maple Leafs Late Comeback Effort Falls Short Against Philadelphia Flyers

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost the first half of their back-to-back last night 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers. The team made their best effort to make a comeback, but it was too little too late after they entered the 3rd period down 3-0. The team would get goals from William Nylander and Tyler Bertuzzi to cut the lead to 3-2 but the Flyers would respond with a goal of their own.

John Tavares makes it 4-3 with a little over two minutes left

John Tavares would cap off the comeback effort with a 6-on-5 goal to make it a one-goal game with just under 2 minutes left. However, the Flyers were ultimately able to fend of the Leafs.

Huge win for the #Flyers 2 points!

35-26-8.

Keefe Blames Himself For Leafs 'Slow Start' Against Flyers

After the game, Sheldon Keefe was asked how he felt about the team's poor luck with six posts in the game. He responded by taking blame for the team's poor 1st period, choosing to blame the loss on that, rather than luck.

Sheldon Keefe on Leafs hitting post/crossbar six times tonight:

"We weren't ready to go, that's on me, to start the game in the first period, & dig yourselves a hole. It's amazing when you do that, all the sudden, luck doesn't go your way."

However, he did not place all of the blame on himself. He also called out the entire team for their poor performance. He specifically noted that the team was not focused as they continued to make mistakes with execution.

Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe: "Just weren't sharp. We weren't sharp mentally, couldn't pass the puck, couldn't handle puck, didn't defend, didn't compete. So not a lot to like."

He would go on to say that he was not satisfied with any part of the team, including goaltender Ilya Samsonov. This comment is notable because many fans thought that Joseph Woll might have been the better choice for this game.

Sheldon Keefe on his team's 4-3 loss in Philadelphia: "I didn't like anybody -- forwards, defense, or goaltending."

Succinct comments from the coach after tonight's loss 👇

This loss comes despite Sheldon Keefe making extensive changes to the team's Blueline. Simon Benoit and Jake McCabe were among the worst performers on the team, likely cementing Benoit's spot in the press box tonight. Be sure to tune in then when the team takes on the Washington Capitals.