Craig Berube on keeping the McMann-Tavares-Marner line together after Matthews’ return: “They’ve been very good defensively and offensively… I felt really reluctant to put Marner and Matthews back together”

After Tuesday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed Auston Matthews’ return to practice, keeping the McMann-Tavares-Marner line together, and the challenge in Florida on Wednesday.

Practice Lines – Nov. 26

Note: Dakota Mermis is a stand-in on a maintenance day for Jake McCabe

Lines at Leafs practice

McMann – Tavares – Marner
Holmberg – Matthews – W. Nylander
Robertson – Minten – A. Nylander
Steeves – Dewar – Lorentz
Knies, Reaves, Grebenkin

Mermis – Tanev
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Timmins
Hakanpää, Myers

Stolarz
Woll@TSN_Edge

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 26, 2024

How did Auston Matthews look in his return to practice?

Berube: Good. It was great having him out there. He looked really good and got through practice with no problem. There are a lot of good signs pointing in the right direction.

How will you know if Matthews is ready to go for game action?

Berube: As I’ve mentioned before, when a player comes to me and says he is ready to go, he is ready to go.

How tricky will it be for Matthews to jump back in after so much time off?

Berube: The tricky part is practice, right? On the first day, he looked fine and felt fine. Not having a lot of practice time is a little concerning.

Matthew Knies was also back on the ice.

Berube: Him, too. It was great to see him practicing. Hopefully, he keeps progressing the right way. We’ll get him on the ice again tomorrow and see where he is at.

How is Max Domi’s recovery going?

Berube: He still hasn’t skated — Domi or Kampf. They are still recovering. No ice yet. They will stay back [in Toronto].

You have the reassurance of knowing that other guys have stepped up and filled in well if some of these players can’t play in Florida.

Berube: We don’t want to put anybody in a bad situation. We have guys up here who have been playing and doing a good job. We have to be patient, too, and make the right decision on this.

Even with Matthews back at practice, you kept Bobby McMann, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner together.

Berube: The line has been very good, both defensively and offensively. They are doing a really good job there. I felt really reluctant to just put Mitch and Matty back together.

We will see, but I like the looks of what I had today with them. They had a good practice, and they looked pretty good and pretty comfortable. I know that Auston has played with Willy and [Holmberg] before.

What do you like about Pontus Holmberg alongside Matthews and William Nylander?

Berube: He hangs onto pucks. He is strong on pucks in the offensive zone. He is responsible defensively.

It is more about him hanging onto pucks, creating loose pucks on the forecheck, and getting to the net. That’s his job on that line, and he can do it.

What kind of challenge are you anticipating against the Panthers on Wednesday? 

Berube: You have to be ready. It is obviously a great team over there. That is why they won. They know what they are doing, and they play a very direct, hard game. We are going to have to do a really good job against their forecheck and their pressure that they come with. They are a physical team. It will be a battle. We have to make sure that we stand up to the battle and initiate, too, by playing our game.

Does the time off from game action help the team play that type of game?

Berube: You have energy, right? That is important. You need the energy to play that way.

I thought we had great energy in practice, which is a great sign. We are going to need it tomorrow for sure.

The three players you’ve added from the Panthers’ Cup roster — Steven Lorentz, OEL, and Anthony Stolarz — have brought a lot to the team so far.

Berube: They have. All different roles and different positions, but they’ve all added what we want in our game.

What do you think the break in between games do for Stolarz?

Berube: I don’t know. I think he has been fine with how he feels. He has never once said he is tired or overworked. He is in a good spot right now.

We have rotated the goalies pretty well. They have had enough times in between games to rest and make sure they are ready to do the job in net.

Auston Matthews on his availability for Wednesday’s game in Florida

Matthews: I don’t know. We will see. We’ll chat with the training staff some more. Individual skates are much different from team practice. This was the first actual team practice I have skated in. I felt really good, but I might need one or two to really get my legs and lungs back under me. We will see how I respond today and see what happens tomorrow.

… With conditioning, timing, and getting back into a competitive atmosphere where everything is super reactive, it’s important to get as much repetition in that setting as possible to feel as game-ready as you can.