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John Tavares singled out by Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe

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Tom Banks
March 27, 2024 (3:27 PM)

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Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares.

Photo credit: TSN

The Toronto Maple Leafs were thoroughly outplayed by the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, and it set off Head Coach Sheldon Keefe, who called out a big name.

Despite their solid play as of late, the Maple Leafs are still susceptible to a tough game or two, and that's what occurred on Tuesday when they fell 6-3 to the struggling New Jersey Devils.

Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs just weren't sharp, and continued to overplay their hand, which is exactly what Head Coach Sheldon Keefe called out post-game after the dreadful team performance.

«Instead of having a strong (second) period and building on it and continuing to do the things that we had done well, I thought we just overdid it,» Keefe said. «Really immature all the way through our game."

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His criticism didn't stop there, as Keefe went out of his way to single out captain John Tavares, who had one of his worst games since joining the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"John Tavares has been the example for us. He's been outstanding for us for a long period of time. He himself got carried away tonight. That's our captain."

The performance certainly isn't all on Tavares, but with a poor year by his standards and a demotion to the third line, it's becoming clear that he needs to improve in a big way.

There's still a few weeks before the playoffs begin, and with the Leafs expecting some big names back from injury, this may finally be the year they can make a deep run if they put it all together.

Source - Blade of Steel:

Keefe Callouts Out His Captain After Disappointing Performance

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27 MARS \| 83 ANSWERS John Tavares singled out by Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Are Sheldon Keefe and John Tavares the duo to lead the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup?
Yes	7	8.4 %
No	76	91.6 %
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