Craig Berube on stopping practice multiple times to address the team: “It sort of goes back to the last game… At 5-0, you take your foot off the gas a little bit, and we don’t want to do that”

After Friday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed Joseph Woll’s status after returning to practice, Conor Timmins’ start to the season, and the role of fighting in the modern game.

Practice Lines — Oct. 18

Lines at Leafs practice

Knies – Matthews – Marner
McMann – Domi – Nylander
Holmberg – Tavares – Robertson
Lorentz – Kampf – Reaves 
Dewar, Pacioretty

Rielly – Tanev
Ekman-Larsson – McCabe
Benoit – Timmins
Myers – Liljegren
Hakanpää

Stolarz
Hildeby
Woll@TSN_Edge

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 18, 2024

How did Joseph Woll look today in practice? Do you know his timeline for when he might be ready for games?

Berube: He was out there with us, which is a great sign. It seems like he is really headed in the right direction. All good.

Sooner than later, I would think, but we have to take it day by day still. I think it is important to see where he is at after practice. I haven’t talked to him yet. We will figure that out.

What have you liked about Anthony Stolarz’s game, and what did you know about him entering the season?

Berube: I had him in Philly as a young guy then. Again, it is just the same things I have talked about: Big in net with his size, a really calm demeanour, and he is making the saves he is supposed to make. He is fighting through traffic. There is a lot of net front (action) in these games, and again, his size really helps out in that area. Plus, he is fighting through the traffic to make the saves, too, on a lot of the stops, which is good to see.

What have you liked about Conor Timmins’ game in his first three appearances?

Berube: I thought he played well. He is moving the puck and doing those things that he is capable of doing. He is a good puck mover and playmaker. He sees the ice pretty well.

For me, it is all about the defensive side of things. He was killing penalties, which is good, and he did a good job of making sure he is strong defensively and strong in the battles. Winning those is important — that is what we need from him.

John Tavares was maybe not at 100% coming off of his illness against LA. What was your sense of his line with Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson? What’s the next step for them to grow?

Berube: It is a tough game for Johnny T, with being sick and not skating much. But that line has some speed, for sure, on the wings. Holmberg is a versatile center or wing, so you have two faceoff guys on that line. There are two guys who are really good in their own zone defensively.

It is a good makeup for a line. We haven’t gotten a real makeup yet with Johnny being sick, but Robby is a worker. He has speed, and he works. Holmberg is a solid two-way player.

Holmer and I have talked. He has to be better, too. He had a really good camp, but he is not happy with his last two games. He will be better.

It was a bit of a circus last year in these Rangers-Leafs matchups with Ryan Reaves and Matt Rempe. You were a fighter in your playing days. Where do you see fighting fitting into the modern game? We saw a dip for a while, and it is now on the rise again.

Berube: You go out and play the game, and if you are that type of player — a Ryan Reaves type of player — you are physical, you are doing your job, you are mixing it up, you are banging bodies, and you are hard in front of the nets, sometimes, things happen. With guys like Ryan Reaves and Rempe, who play that way and are physical on the forecheck taking the body, sometimes the other guys react to it. They are willing to drop their gloves and fight.

That is really what it boils down to. There are other guys who play the game hard but are not willing to do that side of things. That is where I think fighting is. If you go and play hard and physically, sometimes, things happen, and the gloves come off.

It is a weird schedule for the team this week. You stopped practice a few times. What is your sense of the group, and what it takes to stay sharp heading into the weekend?

Berube: We don’t want to get complacent, right? That is the biggest thing. I stopped it a couple of times. It was just execution for me, being sharp and executing. It sort of goes back to the last game. At 5-0, you take your foot off the gas a little bit, and we don’t want to do that.