Devils' Keefe says it will be 'strange' coaching against Maple Leafs in reunion
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Sheldon Keefe has never coached against a former team. That will change on Thursday night.
"I don't know what to make of it," the new New Jersey Devils head coach said with a smile. "I have never been in this situation before. We will see when we get out there as the game gets going."
Keefe is getting set to face the Maple Leafs for the first time since being fired as head coach in the summer. He had plenty of success in the regular season in Toronto, but only led the Leafs to one series win during five trips to the playoffs.
The first question of his morning media session came from a Toronto reporter.
"Woah, woah," Keefe said. "This is Amanda's house."
Keefe looked towards Amanda Stein, who is the Devils team reporter. But Stein deferred, and so a series of questions about Keefe and his time in Toronto ensued. Keefe admits "it's a little bizarre" to face his old team in the home opener for his new team, but the 44-year-old doesn't have revenge on his mind.
"What does it mean to me? Not a lot, quite honestly," the Brampton, Ont. native insisted. "I mean, I got nothing but love from the people that are on the other side. Tremendous respect for everybody in the organization that treated me so well and the players that gave me so much. To that end, it's going to be strange being on the other side."
Keefe reiterated he's disappointed by the lack of playoff success in Toronto, but also feels a sense of closure after exchanging messages with the core players over the summer.
"They were nice enough to reach out, most of the guys, whether it was phone calls and text messages," he said. "I do think the team is in a really good place. Love the moves that [General manager Brad Treliving] made in the off-season. The team is as good as it's ever been and I wish them nothing but the best."
The tone was a bit different inside the dressing room.
"We know this is an emotional game for him, obviously, and we all want to help him to get that win," said Devils winger Jesper Bratt.
"There's definitely, in the room, some little extra motivation for sure," confirmed captain Nico Hischier.
Keefe cautions it won't be easy to get the two points even though the Leafs will be tired after playing on Wednesday. Game planning for his old team gave Keefe a new appreciation for the talent Toronto possesses.
"I'm on the other side now and getting a sense of what other teams have had to contend with, you know, and dealing with what's been a top five or top 10 team in the regular season over the last number of years," he said.
The Devils are off to a 2-0-0 start after sweeping a pair of games against the Buffalo Sabres in Czechia.
"Our second game was far better just like I would expect it would be for Toronto tonight," Keefe noted.
The Leafs dropped their opener 1-0 in Montreal. Keefe didn't see a dramatic change from the Leafs under new coach Craig Berube.
"There's a lot of similarities in how both teams want to play," Keefe observed. "In terms of structure, it's pretty similar. There's some differences, neutral zone and in the D zone. Offensively it is a lot of what you would expect."
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The Maple Leafs will start Dennis Hildeby on Thursday night in New Jersey.
"He's played well in pre-season," said coach Craig Berube. "Really liked his game in Montreal in pre-season, so he'll be net tonight."
Hildeby stopped 26 of 27 shots to beat the Montreal Canadiens in his first career NHL pre-season start on Sept. 28. Now, the 23-year-old will make his NHL debut against the high-octane Devils in New Jersey's home opener.
The Leafs are currently without Joseph Woll (lower-body tightness). Anthony Stolarz started on Wednesday in Montreal and the team is reluctant to play him on consecutive days.
Berube said it was a "management decision" to call-up Hildeby, an AHL all-star last year, instead of veteran Matt Murray.
Does the coach have a message for the kid ahead of this milestone moment?
"You leave him alone, especially a goalie," Berube said. "He knows what he's doing. He's had some experience, not a lot, but he's going to do his job, play his game."
The 6-foot-7 Swede made a positive impression on the team during training camp.
"He was tremendous in pre-season," Stolarz raved following Wednesday's 1-0 loss in Montreal. "He has a nice calmness in his game and he moves extremely well for a guy of his size. And just his demeanour off the ice, you know, you can kind of see it that he has that, you know, calm, cool and collected."
Hildeby was called up by the Leafs a couple times last season, but didn't get into a game.
"He had tremendous season last year," said former Leafs coach and current Devils bench boss Sheldon Keefe. "Tremendous, tremendous year last year in his first year in North America. And it seems like he's had a good pre-season. Not too concerned about who's in goal for them here tonight. They got a tremendous performance last night in goal. We got a lot to worry about to protect our own goalie and find a way to get to whoever's in there for them."
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The Leafs fired 48 shots on net in Montreal, but couldn't beat Sam Montembeault.
"I thought the execution was off," said Berube. "Whether it was the shot or the passing, it just wasn't clean enough at times."
Matthews fired six shots on net and hit two posts.
Keefe was asked how the Devils can keep the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner in check again.
"Keep the puck away from him, make him defend, you know, limit, minimize your mistakes and get some love from the crossbars if you can," he said. "Like last night."
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The Leafs failed to convert on four power-play attempts in Montreal.
"Not direct enough," Berube said. "A little outside for me. We didn't look to attack right away, get shots, and get pucks to the net to look for some rebounds. We were just moving it around on the outside too much. I don't want to call it 'too cute' but we have to be more direct."
Toronto mustered just five shots during the eight man-advantage minutes. Matthews thinks the top unit will benefit by simplifying their approach.
"More of a shot presence," he prescribed. "That's a good start for us. But just working to get open for each other. Working to find various spots. Just kind of getting more pucks to the net and seeing what we can create off that."
The Leafs did convert on four of 10 chances in the three games that the top unit played in the pre-season.
"We had a great pre-season," stressed winger Mitch Marner. "I think we did have looks. Maybe just be a little simpler."
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Bobby McMann did not skate with the projected scratches on Thursday morning. It appears the winger will draw in after sitting out the opener as a healthy scratch.
Veteran winger Ryan Reaves skated on Thursday morning and appears to be the odd man out up front.
It does not look like the Leafs will make any changes to their defence.