John Tavares, Sheldon Keefe react to “ugly” win

The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled out all the stops during last night's victory over the Montreal Canadiens in what was truly a wild first game of the season. While it was truly a sloppy affair, the Leafs eventually emerged with the two points with their 6-5 shootout victory and did so in thrilling comeback fashion. 

Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle, with the Habs initially taking a 2-0 lead before a determined comeback from the Leafs gave them the lead right back. The third period saw the Leafs and Habs collectively score five goals, and it required a spirited comeback effort from Toronto to tie things up late in regulation and ultimately secure the victory in the shootout. 

For head coach Sheldon Keefe, the game truly was "all over the place" and there is still plenty of room for improvement - especially after a few defensive breakdowns that led directly to goals in the back of their net. 

"The game presented almost anything you can think of," Keefe said. "It is all over the place, which you don’t love to see. Chalk it up as an early-season game. These things are always easier to process when you get the two points. But there are a lot of things we have to do better than we did tonight."

The Leafs pulled Samsonov with several minutes remaining in regulation as they trailed by a pair of goals, and were able to score twice in order to pull even.

"I had confidence that the guys would give us a chance," Keefe said. "You never know. The net is empty, and if they shoot one in, it is pretty much over. I did have confidence in the group and the preparation that they had done with Guy (Boucher). It came through for us tonight."

Captain John Tavares knew that the Leafs weren't at their "best" against Toronto and two points is two points, but that can't be the norm for the season that will see them trying to build on the success of last year's playoff victory. 

"You want to be at your best right from the get-go," Tavares said. "We know we weren't [our best] at many points tonight, but there are many things we can take away. It's a long season, it's a long grind sometimes you have to win ugly."

The Leafs are off until Saturday night when they bring in the Minnesota Wild to Scotiabank Arena. 

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