On an off-day on Sunday, head coach Craig Berube reflected on the team’s overtime loss to Boston, William Nylander’s start to the season, and the big workloads for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Why did you decide to keep the team off the ice today?
Berube: Well, there has been a lot of travel today. It was an overtime game and a hard-fought game. Some guys had a lot of minutes. The rest will do us good. We’ll get on the ice in the morning, have a little skate, and get ready to play.
Did you have a chance to look at the footage from last night?
Berube: We created a lot of opportunities. We are just not finishing well enough. At the end of the day, three goals should be enough to win. We made a couple of mistakes, and we have to clean those up and keep them out of our net.
How would you assess the play of William Nylander through nine games?
Berube: Early on, he was creating a lot of opportunities and scored a couple of goals. One, the power play isn’t scoring, so that is something where he produces. Two, I think a little bit of frustration has set in with him not getting enough clean looks.
How do you work through the frustration?
Berube: Talking to him, trying to help him out, and showing him the things he can do better. Also, I don’t think there is much chemistry with his line right now.
When it comes to creating more offense, how much of the learning curve is about learning the new system? Is it taking away from some of the instincts that make them great offensively?
Berube: In saying that, in all of the games this year, we have created enough chances for to win hockey games. I think the chances for are there. We are getting opportunities.
Yes, the power play could be cleaner at times, and things could be done better. We have to keep working through that, but even the power play has created opportunities. On that 5-on-3 last night, we had three empty nets, and we didn’t put them in the net. We have missed a lot of empty nets.
The guys competed very hard last night. It was a hard-fought game. I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. It is the key mistakes at the wrong times right now that are hurting our team.
Do you envision a split in the net moving forward, or is Anthony Stolarz earned the majority of the net?
Berube: He has earned it. He has played extremely well. But we always have conversations and talk about these things. There is rest and other things that go into it.
Mitch Marner played around 26 minutes last night. What allows him to handle that kind of a workload?
Berube: I overused him last night, but with penalty kill and overtime, it got a little extended. That is on me to try to work that a little bit more. I have to not use him so much on the penalty kill, but he is an extremely good penalty killer.
Marner is averaging around 21:40. Matthews is around 20. Is that where you want them?
Berube: That is a good number, depending on the night. With all-situations guys like that, they have PK, PP, and five-on-five responsibilities. They are going out there against the best lines every night. They are going to get work.
You mentioned the need to cut down on mistakes. Did you speak with Bobby McMann after his turnover for the 2-2 goal, or does he understand already?
Berube: He knows. I didn’t say anything to him after the game, but I definitely will. We need to clean up his mistakes.
Why are those mistakes popping up? Is it an early-season thing?
Berube: Well, it’s early-season stuff, and it is learning a new system, too, that is going into it. Old habits creep back in. We have to limit those things, and we’ll be in good shape.
Both Simon Benoit and Morgan Rielly became new dads over the offseason. It can’t be an easy adjustment to their routines and schedules. Have you talked to them about that? Do you have experience in that area as well?
Berube: I do, and it definitely does [impact routines and schedules]. I understand it fully that you have more responsibilities at home, but they seem fine. They don’t seem like they are overwhelmed right now. They feel like they have good energy. I am not too concerned about it.
