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Who knew the absence of David Kampf would have had such a detrimental affect on the Maple Leafs?
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Towards the backdrop of a Kampf benching, the Leafs closed the 2023 calendar 12 months with a whimper, dropping 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday evening.
Coach Sheldon Keefe’s announcement just a few hours earlier than sport time that he was benching Kampf, who has struggled this season, for some obtrusive errors 24 hours earlier in Columbus overshadowed, a minimum of for a day, the plight of goaltender Ilya Samsonov.
It wasn’t a distraction, although, from what occurred as soon as the puck dropped at Scotiabank Area. The Leafs didn’t hand over a ton towards the Hurricanes, however they didn’t create a ton both.
Defenceman Timothy Liljegren, along with his first objective of the season, ended Pyotr Kochetkov’s shutout bid at 5:16 of the third interval. Liljegren fired the puck over Kochetkov’s proper shoulder after a nice feed from Max Domi.
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From there, the Leafs performed desperation hockey, however couldn’t rating once more till Nick Robertson did with 9.8 seconds to play. Toronto will get at it once more on Tuesday after they start a three-game go to to California in Los Angeles.
Kampf was main Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time, although it may need been only a coincidence that Carolina’s first two targets had been scored on the facility play. Toronto was twenty first within the Nationwide Hockey League on the penalty kill going into the sport. At greatest, that’s mediocre. We don’t think about Kampf, changed by Pontus Holmberg within the lineup, would have made a lot of a distinction.
Former Leaf Michael Bunting — who was acknowledged on the scoreboard throughout a TV timeout within the first interval, a brief tribute barely seen by the quiet crowd — and Seth Jarvis scored for Carolina on goalie Martin Jones. Sebastian Aho scored into an empty Leafs web within the last minute.
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The larger story is that Keefe benched a participant for a sport. Certain, it will have made larger waves had it been a core Leaf who was despatched to chill his heels within the press field, however Keefe hasn’t been the sort to carry gamers accountable by benching them. That he did it in any respect ought to elevate eyebrows.
Keefe issued a stern warning of types throughout his media availability late within the afternoon. It got here earlier than his crew misplaced for the fifth time in six video games, a tailspin that completely can’t be blamed solely on goaltending.
Keefe made it clear he’s sick of the errors his group has been making on a nightly foundation. Sharp goaltending would have mended a few of these self-inflicted wounds, however that doesn’t make sloppy hockey excusable.
“I suppose you can name it a message to the group within the sense that there’s going to be much less tolerance for that,” Keefe stated.
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“We’ve obtained to get higher on this space. That’s it. Specifically, members of our management group, like David is, we belief these guys to paved the way for us and the expectations are increased. Kampf needs to be a pacesetter on (the fourth) line. He’s obtained to be a pacesetter in these varieties of conditions the place we’re in charge of the sport.
“It’s not simply him, it’s the blokes that we actually depend on to be good in these areas, whether or not you’re the highest guys that produce quite a lot of offence, we’d like these guys to be to be good in these areas as effectively. However for somebody like Kampfer particularly, that’s his major job and focus when he’s on the ice. When he strays from that, he opens up the chance for others to take his minutes.”
Kampf, whose defensive acumen helped result in a four-year contract extension with the Leafs in June, was singled out after his offensive-zone miscue helped result in the tying objective by the Blue Jackets’ Adam Fantilli within the third interval on Friday. A nasty change on the a part of Kampf and his linemates earlier than Cameron Gaunce scored the Jackets’ second objective didn’t sit effectively both.
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“It’s not particular to Kampf,” Keefe stated. “You attempt to be affected person and also you attempt to belief your guys and provides them alternatives to return out and do proper, however the tolerance for a similar varieties of errors which might be occurring once we’re in positions (to win) of late, goes to be rather a lot much less.
“It must be rather a lot much less if we don’t see enchancment. That’s the fact of it. We’ve obtained a younger man in Holmberg who has performed effectively for us and hasn’t performed for some time.
“There must be some accountability. In my view, (Kampf) didn’t do a ok job in a few of these moments I’m speaking about as a man that we actually depend on in these positions, particularly once we’re taking part in with leads. He’s essential participant for us and he shall be rather a lot higher for us.”
tkoshan@postmedia.com
X: @koshtorontosun
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Keefe benches Kampf, ‘much less tolerance’ for Maple Leafs errors
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