Sheldon Keefe addresses Toronto Maple Leafs' struggling powerplay unit

During the Toronto Maple Leafs' Saturday night matinee against the Edmonton Oilers, the Leafs had gone 0 and four on the powerplay. The team only had four goals in the last thirty-nine attempts of the powerplay opportunities.

In an interview with David Alter of The Hockey News, Keefe said:

"Playing against one of the league's best penalty kills, they make it hard on you. We had some chances and didn't go in for us, but they don't give you much."

The Maple Leafs are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and hold the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference overall, with nobody catching up or the chance of tying any team that is above them in the standings.

The Maple Leafs have won two and lost two in the last four contests, and have 11 games remaining in the season. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews has the opportunity to make it to 70 goals this season and is poised to win the Rocket Richard Trophy this season as well.

The powerplay unit of the Maple Leafs currently sits in fourth spot at 26.1 percent. However, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe, the team must utilize the opportunities with a more passionate approach.

With a handful of games remaining, the playoff picture at the moment would pair Toronto against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender is not 100 percent after his game against the Oilers

Late in the third period of the game, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov had given his team a scare during the Saturday night game against the Edmonton Oilers.

In an interview with David Alter, head coach Sheldon Keefe had this to say about his starting netminder:

"He got injured. And it's not anything near what it appeared or what I thought it might have done. I'm not going to give you too many details right now, but it looks like he'll be fine and won't miss any time. That said, he's certainly not at 100%, but we're hopeful that after today and another day off tomorrow that he's in a better place and we'll see precisely where he's at."

Ilya Samsonov has started and played 34 games this season, with 19 wins and six losses. His goals-against average is 3.12 and his save percentage is .889. In his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, Samasonov has 46 wins and 16 losses in two seasons of gameplay.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' next game is on Tuesday, March 26, against the New Jersey Devils.