Maligned Holl praised by Leafs teammates, coach Keefe, who keeps same lineup for Game 5

Sheldon Keefe is going back to the well.

The Maple Leafs head coach will dress the same lineup for tonight's Game 5 against the Lightning, some 48 hours after that group came out embarrassingly flat with a chance to grab a 3-1 stranglehold in their best-of-seven playoff series.

Toronto defenceman Justin Holl turned the puck over less than a minute into Sunday's debacle, leading to Tampa Bay's first goal and opening the floodgates at Amalie Arena against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

Keefe said he gave "lots of thought" to making changes, but decided after reviewing the video of the 7-3 loss that tied the matchup 2-2 he would ice the same roster, including keeping Holl with veteran blue-liner Mark Giordano on the third pair.

"I watched the game back the other night, and to me, the Giordano-Holl pairing was as good a pairing we had," Keefe said. "I've watched the game back three times now, and Hollsy's a driver of that a lot.

"To me, he's coming off his best game, certainly of the two that he played."

Keefe said the pairing of Giordano and youngster Timothy Liljegren didn't have the same chemistry in Games 1 and 2 at home as they did late in the regular season after the former captain of the Calgary Flames was acquired from the Seattle Kraken.

WATCH l Maple Leafs fall to Lightning in Game 4:

The slew of penalties in the tightly officiated series was also a factor in going back to the hard-nosed, defence-first option instead of turning to Liljegren.

"He's stabilized our penalty kill," Keefe said of Holl. "There's a lot of other things, but he's done a good job there."

Leafs winger Mitch Marner said Holl has been "unbelievable" when part of the lineup this season.

"Doesn't get the love he deserves," Marner