Keefe was ejected late in regulation after arguing an offensive zone penalty to Mitch Marner.
Keefe was ejected late in regulation after arguing an offensive zone penalty to Mitch Marner.
Sheldon Keefe knew the question was coming.
Down 4-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period, the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach was visibly upset after Mitch Marner was assessed a tripping call in the offensive zone with 4:53 remaining in regulation time.
Multiple replays appeared to show that Marner made little to no contact with Golden Knights forward Chandler Stephenson on the play.
"I think the whole arena saw it on the jumbotron. He didn’t touch him he just toe-picked on his own," Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi said after the game. "It’s hard, I guess, to make that call. It’s a fast game but it was a tough call."
The Leafs successfully killed off the penalty, but Keefe remained animated on the bench and with 2:14 remaining in the third period, the Toronto head coach was assessed a game misconduct and ejected from the game by referee Garrett Rank.
Keefe was asked after the game if he wanted to reveal what led to his early exit.
"No," he replied.
After asking where the experience ranked among situations where he's witnessed an ejection?
"Not going there."
Keefe was rightfully apprehensive as he's been fined for his comments before. On Dec. 28, 2022, the Toronto head coach dolled out $25,000 for "demeaning conduct directed at the officials in a game against the St. Louis Blues the night before.
"I don’t think he said a whole lot," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said of Keefe's ejection. "He just didn’t like the call, especially in a tight hockey game. He didn’t think there was much there, if anything at all."
The Leafs went on to lose the game 6-2. Keefe referred to the first eight minutes of the game as their "best start of the season" before they got "too cute" against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
And the late penalty that took the momentum out of the club's comeback bid.
"It was a tough day to earn power plays tonight," Keefe said. That’s a tough spot in the game there. Power plays were 4-1 in the game, that’s a factor in the game. That’s not on the officials. That’s part of the way the game goes.
"That’s another thing that didn’t go our way here tonight. We didn’t do enough to earn power plays."
The Leafs had their winning streak snapped at seven games. It is their longest stretch of wins in over 20 years.
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