Keefe: Leafs' special teams 'rotten' in loss to Isles

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't hold back when assessing his team's performance in situations other than even strength during an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.

"(We) had a pretty significant advantage in the scoring chances at five-on-five, but (our) special teams were rotten tonight," Keefe said postgame.

"(The) power play had one chance and did nothing with it. It's as bad as we've looked in any power play," the bench boss added. "And then (on the) penalty kill, it's in our net before we can even blink to start the game. Second period, first we take a penalty, the careless high stick with control of the game. Those are the kinds of mistakes that cost you games, that cost you points."

The Islanders converted two of their three opportunities with the man advantage. Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring 40 seconds into the contest and Bo Horvat tied it with 6:09 to go in the third period. Mathew Barzal won it 21 seconds into the overtime session after assisting on each of New York's first three goals.

Toronto boasts the NHL's sixth-best power play, with a 26.7% success rate. However, the club's penalty kill ranks 24th at 76.8%. The Maple Leafs are 4-0-1 since the calendar flipped to 2024, but their penalty kill ranks 28th in that span at 66.7% as they've allowed three goals in nine of those situations.

The Leafs occupy third place in the Atlantic Division at 21-10-8. They're seven and six points behind the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, respectively, but they've played two fewer games.

The Islanders improved to 19-12-10 with their victory. They're tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division both in terms of points (48) and points percentage (.585).

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