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After Wednesday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed the offensive production of the Tavares line in Winnipeg, the team’s penalty troubles in the first 10 games, Nick Robertson’s role, and Matthew Knies’ potential.


Practice Lines – Oct. 30


What did you like about the Tavares line the other night? What allowed them to have so much success?

Berube: They were heavy on the puck. That is the biggest thing for me. All three of them were heavy on pucks, won puck battles, went to the net, and scored. All three goals were right around the net. They were very good.

Tavares seems to be warding off father time. What stands out about his ability to stay ahead of it?

Berube: Professionalism and work ethic. He is constantly working on his game. He takes care of everything and what he needs. He has great focus.

Are you hoping to build some competition between the power-play units?

Berube: A little bit maybe, but it is more about finding some chemistry with the power play. I go back to looking at it and the opportunities we’ve had. The shooting percentage is very low on the power play. If it is up a bit, it makes a huge difference, right?

We are getting grade-As. They are not going in. In the end, it wasn’t working, so I mixed it up. That is all it boils down to. I am not looking for much more than that.

How do you approach the discipline issue with the high penalty counts?

Berube: Well, it is addressed. You can sit guys for shifts, as I have. There are a lot of things, but the penalties aren’t from a guy going off-page and taking a penalty. It is managing being aggressive with your stick and doing things right.

There are penalties that you can deal with. If there is a scoring opportunity and someone has to make a desperate play, he may have to take a penalty, but we have taken three or four in the offensive zone. Those are the ones that bother me the most. They are 200 feet from our net. We have to be smarter than that.

In the third period, too, we took one in Boston. In Winnipeg, we took two in the third. Really, they weren’t necessary. There was no danger anywhere. We just have to be better.

Is it about coaching it out?

Berube: Coaching it out, and again, just making guys aware of it. You obviously have to do something if they keep doing it.

What type of challenge do the Seattle Kraken present?

Berube: They are a quick team, right? They play a fast game. Right from their first year, I thought they were a difficult team to play against with their transition game and their quickness. They have a lot of speed. They do things quickly.

We are going to have to be ready, on our toes, and make sure we manage the puck. Against this team, it will be very important to get above their speed.

Does Matthew Knies remind you of anyone you have coached before? Do you see anyone in the league who would be a good role model for him?

Berube: I look at big guys like Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin, from back in the day, who were power forwards. A John LeClair type — those kinds of guys I have been around, played with, or played against. You are a heavy guy and a good forechecker, and then you are around the net all the time.

He is doing a very good job of that. He can skate extremely well and is really powerful. He plays north. He is doing a good job of getting to the net with [Marner and Matthews]. He lets them do their thing, and he is around the net.

Nick Robertson was rotating into the Kampf line today. Can he play that sort of role, or does he need to be in more of a scoring role if he is in the lineup?

Berube: It is a little of both. We had him out there penalty killing today. I do think that he can be a PKer for us, with his speed and tenacity. It is something I want to keep working with him on and for him to keep building. It can be a very good thing for him to have. It is a little bit more of a role for him. That is not taking away from his scoring ability or anything, but it is another part of his game that can grow.