Maple Leafs score

2022 - 5 - 7

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Jon Cooper on his team through three games against the Leafs ... (Maple Leafs Hot Stove)

After practice ahead of Game 4 of the first-round series between the Maple Leafs and Lightning, Tampa head coach Jon Cooper discussed Andrei Vasilevskiy ...

That is why he is the best. The guys have to play in front of him. There is always a misnomer out there that it is the number of goals you score. There is a lot of our game that we like. It is not, in my mind, a ton of great looks, but we are giving them phenomenal looks — open-net tap-ins. I am not saying it is bad, but there is probably a little uncertainty about what the players can and can’t do, which is probably unfortunate. There is so much disruption, and there is a little uncertainty about the way games are being reffed. That is where we have to be looking. If we are going to sit here and have a 3.5 goals-against average in every two-game set, we’ll take that. We have been in these situations a plethora of times in the last couple of years. We have a plan. Cooper: We have a recipe.

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Sheldon Keefe on Jon Cooper's comments about scoring on the ... (Maple Leafs Hot Stove)

Coming back from his injury, where do you think Michael Bunting is at? Keefe: In terms of the injury, I think he is ...

That is a good thing to hear and it is a good thing to have. When his partner or the forwards make a mistake, he has the ability to clean it up with good reads, good sticks, and an ability to break up plays. I wouldn’t have the answer for certain on that other than to say it is also early. We were in that mode a lot last night, especially in the second half of the game, so it took away from a lot of the offense. To go directly to the question, I would say Justin went in and gave us a good game. Keefe: I think it is just his way of being confident and showing belief in his team. It is not just Will. It is Auston. It is Mitch. It is our guys on the other end of it. From there, you are pretty much putting yourself in a position where now we are containing and trying not to give up a high-danger chance in the slot. Any time you are in the playoffs, you are going to play against the top 16 teams in the league. Does that go a long way to helping the likes of Nylander and Tavares get more involved offensively? It is coming back from an injury, and you are also coming back and playing in the playoffs for the first time. We give him an opportunity to move up in the lineup after that and do a good job.

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