Craig Berube admits one huge hole with the Toronto Maple Leafs

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Daniel Lucente
October 10, 2024 (10:49 PM)

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Craig Berube spoke to the media prior to tonight's Leafs game against the Devils and has revealed the exact reason his team lost to the Canadiens last night.

The Leafs peppered the net of Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault 48 times in their opener but couldn't catch a break. The result was the first shutout against the Leafs in 227 games. A good performance by Montembeault frustrated an offense by the Leafs that set the pace for a tough start to their campaign.

But even with that scoreless result, head coach Craig Berube did find some positives in the overall play and more so at even strength. Berube liked the effort and energy his players showed when both teams were even, calling it a decent base to work off going forward.

However, Berube pointed to the Leafs' power-play failure as one of the key reasons for their loss, going 0-for-4 with the man advantage and failing to capitalize on key moments that could change the outcome. He criticized his team for playing undisciplined since unnecessary penalties disrupted their momentum and put them in a defensive mode.

"A lot of good things. A lot of shots. I thought the execution was off, whether it was the shot or the passing. It just wasn't clean enough at times, the power play included. But there was a lot of good stuff. When you almost get 50 shots on net and you don't score. Their goalie played well, but I was happy with our effort. The guys battled and worked. Stolarz was really good in net. A lot of good things, but we have to find a way to finish better."

- Craig Berube

These penalty problems were compounded by taking two infractions that gave the Canadiens a 5-on-3 advantage and further stifled any Leafs flow in terms of creating offense. It was these costly lapses in judgment that sapped the team of energy and prevented them from mounting any serious comeback.

Looking ahead, the Leafs don't have much time to dwell on the loss as up next is the New Jersey Devils led by their former coach Sheldon Keefe. With Joseph Woll on injured reserve, the Leafs have yet to declare a starting goaltender for Thursday's matchup. Rookie Dennis Hildeby could make his NHL debut allowing Anthony Stolarz to rest up for Saturday's home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins.