Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On how the team responded after a slow start:
Early on, our legs weren’t there, and our hands weren’t there in the little puck plays. Pittsburgh comes hard. They are a very good forechecking team that applies a lot of pressure.
We were under siege, but our structure didn’t break on it. The goalie made some saves. We hung in there with our structure in our own zone.
On whether he’s achieved buy-in quickly from the group:
It is still a work in progress, for sure. In training camp, the guys really bought into what we are trying to accomplish and achieve. It has carried over to these games so far, but we have to keep improving and keep getting better.
On how Mitch Marner has responded so far to all the noise around his contract season and his future in Toronto:
I have watched Mitch from afar for a long time and obviously coached against him. He is a very good two-way, all-situational player. From what I have seen, he is a great teammate. He has a lot of energy. There is a lot of good.
On why he started to switch up the power-play units later in the game:
So far, it has been stagnant. We all know that. We were just moving some guys around tonight, trying to find a spark with something different. I thought it got better in the third. There were some opportunities, but we have to get to work on it.
On giving Oliver Ekman-Larsson looks on the top power-play unit:
He has run power plays for a long time in Arizona and other places. He shoots the puck from the point. He establishes that shot. He is pretty fluid walking the line and seeing the ice.
On Matthew Knies’ ceiling in the league:
He is a powerful guy. He was excellent tonight. He is strong on pucks and plays the game the right way.
The scoring of the goals will come. He is young. It is hard to score in this league as a young guy. I am not saying he is not going to score early in his career, but the goals will come.
We are using him in all situations — killing penalties, power play, and out there at the end of the game at 6-on-5. He has been very structured. The strength of him and the skating… He is high ceiling, for me.
On Nick Robertson going to the net hard and drawing a penalty despite his size:
He has had a great camp. We all know that. He has worked. He worked again tonight. He is a dog on a bone out there.
It was a great net drive. He battled and drew a penalty. It is an important play at that time in the game.
On the four penalties called against the team:
I didn’t like the call on Benny. The other ones are penalties. We have to be better. We can’t take those penalties.
On whether the power play will be an area of focus during the upcoming days off between games:
We will definitely work on it. We work on it anyhow, but we will spend some time on it for sure.
