Keeping Focus
Sheldon Keefe likes the fight and compete he’s seen in his team the past few games and hopes to see that continue.
But the defensive pieces of the game are where he’d like to see habits and tendencies improve.
“Box outs, defending the net, executing on the plays on the boards to get us out of trouble, all those kinds of things, we’re looking for,” he said. "And then, just out awareness. Our situational awareness as we call it. Making sure our line changes are good, we’re not taking bad penalties, recognizing the time and score and where you are in your shift, managing the puck, all of those things that ultimately do make the difference between winning and losing, and I think that’s where we continually need to grow.”
So where does that come from? And how can that improve?
"There’s a leadership element of it," Keefe said. "And I think players have really got to take charge of that and really embrace the messaging from the coaching staff and have it spread throughout the bench and the locker room and go out and embody that. It’s about the mindset. We’ve got a lot of offensive guys that feel like they can make plays and score at any time, and in many cases, they can, but you’ve got to play with a consciousness. I think we’ve seen a lot of growth in that area already from preseason, from Prague to here.
"But at times, we’ve had lapses," he continued. "Little things like that got us into some trouble in Detroit, despite playing a very good game, you make some mistakes that just open the door for the opposition, despite outplaying them that they can score and those are things the top teams in the league do a lot less frequently."
Defensive Decisions
This will be a second third straight game where Simon Nemec will sit out. As head coach Sheldon Keefe explains, it's become a bit of a numbers game with the return of Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce.
"Right now, we’re still in a situation where we’re trying to get (Luke) Hughes and Pesce up to speed and give them as many reps as possible,” Keefe said. “The other defensemen, to me, have performed very well or are well-established players for us. So he’s going to have to be patient right now and continue to work and learn. Still a young guy with lots to learn and lots of room to grow."
Everything is about opportunity and right now, it's become limited with the number of defensemen healthy and the way at least one defenseman has siezed the moment. Keefe offered ample praise for Johnathan Kovacevic who has come in this season and grabbed hold of his spot paired alongside Jonas Siegenthaler.
"We’ve got great depth on defense, and he and Casey and Kovacevic got really good opportunities early in the season because of our situation, and Kovacevic, to me, has really taken off and capitalized on it. There’s not as much opportunity here now, so it’s more of a numbers situation."
