"He crossed the line": Sheldon Keefe holds Max Domi responsible for 'careless' slashing penalty

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Apr 22, 2024 05:27 GMT

Toronto Maple Leafs HC Sheldon Keefe was not impressed with Max Domi's careless penalty that accounted for the 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the playoffs on Saturday.

In the matchup, with less than four minutes remaining in the second period, Max Domi slashed Boston's Brad Marchand on the arm just below the glove during a faceoff. The action resulted in Domi receiving a 2-minute minor penalty for slashing Marchand.

Toronto Maple Leafs v Boston Bruins - Game One

Subsequently, the Bruins took advantage of the powerplay opportunity, and Jake DeBrusk scored a goal for the Bruins, extending their lead to 4-0 before the third period. The Bruins effectively capitalized on the man advantage to further solidify their lead in the game before eventually winning it 5-1.

Keefe was disappointed with Max Domi's penalty in the post-game interview, labeling it "undisciplined" and stating the winger "crossed the line" (via mapleleafshotstove.com):

"Careless penalties. Domi’s penalty is the one that I would call an undisciplined penalty. I understand what he is trying to do, but he crossed the line there, and you can’t do that. The high-sticks and stuff like that — that is just careless stuff. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the emotion."

"In terms of the emotion of the game, the competitiveness, and the physicality, I have no issue with our game on that end of it," Keefe added

Domi's penalty wasn't the sole reason for the Leafs falling behind in the game. In total, the six players accumulated 12 penalty minutes during the game. Keefe also mentioned that the team's performance on the power play was "really slow" and "not good enough."

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins managed to score two of their five goals on powerplays, capitalizing on the penalties committed by the Leafs.

Max Domi and Leafs face tough loss to Bruins in Game 1

Jake DeBrusk notched up three points in the Bruins' 5-1 win over the Leafs at TD Garden on Saturday.

Captain Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy garnered two points apiece, while Jeremy Swayman made 35 saves in the contest. David Kampf was the lone scorer for the visitors in the matchup.

While the Leafs coach expressed disappointment in Max Domi and the team's discipline during the game, Bruins HC Jim Montgomery was impressed by his team's discipline and execution displayed in Game 1 (via NHL.com):

“I really liked our team discipline,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I liked our execution. I liked the emotion we played with. And I thought the physicality of our group was very evident.”

Game 2 of the seven-game series between the Leafs and Bruins returns to TD Garden on Monday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.