Craig Berube Pinpoints Key Weakness in Maple Leafs' Performance in Season Opener vs. Montreal

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Chris Gerics
October 10, 2024 (12:45)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't successful in their season opener against Montreal and one key factor according to Craig Berube was the special teams units.

Wednesday's season opener between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens started hot, and although we didn't see any big fights or skirmishes, the action was fast paced and back and forth throughout the whole night. The Canadiens came away with a 1-0 win after a Cole Caufield goal and a sensational effort from Sam Montembeault, though it wasn't for a lack of trying as the Maple Leafs threw a whopping 48 shots at the Montreal goaltender.

While there were certainly positives, one of the biggest disappointments was the powerplay going 0-for-4 on the night and the same old thing Maple Leafs fans have been used to. For the past several years. A lot of hype surrounded Craig Berube's new powerplay maestro Marc Savard, however, the team continued to play the same way and it led to a lack of results. Let's just say, Berube was less than impressed:

"Not direct enough. A little outside for me, you know? We didn't look to attack right away, get shots, and get pucks to the net to look for some rebounds. We were just moving it around on the outside too much. I don't want to call it 'too cute,' but we have to be more direct. That, too," said Berube on the PP.

He's not wrong. Often the Maple Leafs were trying to get the extra pass, or taking too long with their cycling as opposed to peppering Montembeault with shots and hope for a rebound. Their aggressiveness kicked up in the third period, but the lack of effort from the first two periods was one of the factors leading to their downfall.

The Maple Leafs often found themselves shorthanded, leading to the only goal scored courtesy of Caufield. Berube found himself needing to remind his team about their time in the sin bin, and relayed they had to play smarter:

"They were unnecessary penalties, some of them. We talked before the game and in between periods about it. We have to be better."

Berube wasn't all negative though, acknowledging that his team played a solid overall game, had a ton of shots and opportunities and his goaltender stepped up when needed:

"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."

It felt like a different team took the ice in the third period, showing an ultra-aggressive side and keeping the puck in Montreal's zone for minutes at a time, showing relentless pace and forechecking. That's the team Berube wants on the ice every period, not just the last 20 minutes and if the Leafs are to be successful they need to start executing on their powerplay (perhaps a shift in philosophy is the secret) and start playing smarter, taking less egregious penalties.

The Maple Leafs will get a chance to fix their powerplay unit on Thursday as they take on the New Jersey Devils, giving Toronto their first look at Sheldon Keefe since they fired him a few months ago.

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What was the key factor in Toronto's loss to Montreal in the season opener?
Powerplay	117	46.1 %
Penalty Kill	15	5.9 %
Bad Defense	14	5.5 %
No Offensive Production	108	42.5 %
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