‘I Think The Message Was Sent’: Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Explains John Tavares’ Third-Period Benching Against Avalanche
The Maple Leafs captain had only three shifts in the third period, while Tyler Bertuzzi only got one.
Several Maple Leafs will be trying for a quick rebound game against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. One of these players is John Tavares.
The 33-year-old played only three shifts in the third period (3:18) in Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado scored on two of those three shifts in the final session.
Andrew Cogliano scored the game-tying goal, and Ross Colton added an empty-netter.
“He took it fine,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe remarked of Tavares’ lack of shifts.
Keefe went on to explain that while he did not discuss the logic with Tavares, it was communicated by the quantity of ice time.
“I believe the message was sent. John knows he wasn’t at his best last night, but he’ll be fine tonight.
Tavares’ 15:03 ice time on Saturday was equal for his third-lowest total of the season. He played six minutes fewer than the Maple Leafs’ next-highest ice time, Auston Matthews, who played 21:12 against the Avalanche.
Keefe swapped lines between the second and third periods, pairing William Nylander with Matthews and Mitch Marner. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews all contributed to the high level of play.
“I mean, the level of play is not comparable to the NHL. Like that’s a different league. “I didn’t think we handled it very well,” Keefe admitted after Saturday’s game.
The other reason for moving Nylander was to help the forward, as he, Tavares, and Tyler Bertuzzi were struggling against Colorado.
“That line was not good for us at all,” Keefe said Saturday. “They didn’t have a single good shift that I can remember. So I needed to get Willy away from that.”
Will Keefe stick with the trio of Tavares, Nylander, and Bertuzzi in Sunday’s game, which is a back-to-back for Toronto and the Detroit Red Wings?
Mark Giordano will be replaced by Conor Timmins in Sunday’s game against the Red Wings, according to Keefe. The head coach also revealed that there could be a few more changes to the roster before Sunday’s game.
“We sustained a few injuries last night. One will almost certainly necessitate a lineup change, and at least one will be decided at the last minute. So we’ll figure that out tonight.”
The NHL has adjusted the start time of Sunday’s game from 7:00 p.m. ET to 7:30 p.m.
