Tag: Game 6

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Sheldon Keefe admits he blacked out after winning Game 6.

Although advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs isn’t usually an accomplishment that you would celebrate, for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and for the Maple Leafs organization on Saturday night it was most definitely a cause for celebration.

After years of disappointment the Leafs finally managed to achieve a modicum of playoff success when they dispatched the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that has defined what it is to be a championship level team in the National Hockey League for the past few years, in just 6 games. Not only was it a moment of joy for the organization, but the relief felt by many who had the proverbial Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads must have been truly overhwelming.

On Saturday night, following the conclusion of Game 6, there was perhaps no one individual who exemplified these feelings more than Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. While speaking to the media, Keefe admitted that he was so filled with emotion that he genuinely blacked out during perhaps the biggest moment of his professional career.

“Jubilation…. I don’t know you black out in those moments,” admitted Keefe following Game 6. “You don’t know what’s going on, you’re just really excited. It’s been a long time coming. A long time coming for a lot of players in our room, a long time coming for myself, and even longer coming for Leafs nation. So it’s a great night.

The joy radiating from Keefe, who again must have had such a giant weight lifted off of his shoulders, was palpable. You can see it for yourself, and hear the man in his own words, in the short clip below.

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First comments from Auston Matthews after advancing past the Lightning.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have finally clawed that monkey off of their backs, advancing past the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night by defeating them in six games.

It was a huge moment for a franchise, fan base, and quite frankly a locker room that has watched this group struggle to get over the hump year after year and following the game Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews was asked to share just how much the moment meant to him.

“It’s a great feeling… but this is step one of three,” said Matthews following the huge win. “It’s a bit of a monkey off our back and we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but obviously this feels great.”

The Maple Leafs have picked up a ton of experience despite their lack of success in the playoffs over the years, often clashing with championship caliber teams in those early exits, and it seems that this accumulated experience may have paid dividends this time around.

“There’s so many ups and downs and it’s just a rollercoaster, so you just gotta try stay even keeled and just enjoy the moment,” said Matthews. “Stay present, and I’m just so proud of every guy in this locker room.”

Matthews was also cognizant of the fact that this is only the first step in a long process to obtaining a championship, but he seemed confident in his team’s ability to do just that.

“It’s a small step in where we are trying to go, but obviously this is a big one for us,” admitted Matthews. “Obviously we have the belief in our room but we’re still a long way from where we wanna go. We just gotta stay in the moment here and get ready for this next round.”

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A closer look at Stuart Skinner’s ‘big mistake’ in Game 6.

Andy Devlin/NHLI/Getty

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it was probably a lot closer than the Oilers would have liked.

Although the game was back and forth with a solid effort from both teams on the ice, it would be a catastrophic mistake from Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner that would keep the Kings close late in the game. That mistake from Skinner was a routine clearing attempt that went horribly wrong and resulted in a goal for the Kings.

First let’s take a look at the play in real time:

This clearly looked like a horrific play on the part of Skinner, but thanks to one sharp-eyed observer watching on Saturday night we now know that it was nothing of the sort. 

Kevin Woodley, who deserves all the credit in the world for noticing this, was quick to notice upon zooming in on the play that Skinner’s stick had actually broken on the play.

Here’s another look in slow motion:

Another sharp-eyed observer in Derek Schlereth noticed that the stick had actually been broken by a Kings player, Adrian Kempe to be exact.

So while Stuart Skinner was catching plenty of heat for his ‘big mistake’ it turns out it wasn’t a mistake at all, but just a very unfortunate series of events.