Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, which dropped the team’s record to 16-8-2.
On where the game got away from the team:
I thought they were just more competitive than us. They played a harder game than us. They won more puck battles than us. They skated better than us. They were just better.
On the refereeing decisions in the game:
I have nothing to say about the officiating. I don’t.
On whether the play should be blown dead when the puck hits the official like on the game-winning 2-1 goal:
You are opening up a big can of worms there with that.
On that play, the bottom line is that instead of just going the other way with the puck, we brought it back. We did that too much tonight, from the first period on. It was the whole game. It eventually bit us and cost us.
We didn’t play a north game. We didn’t play fast. They were the better team. They deserved to win.
On whether he views the game as a one-off to be flushed or if there is more to be learned from this loss:
We always look at things and go over it with our team in terms of things we have to do better and how we need to play better. There are things that we are going to show tomorrow that we need to do better.
On Nick Robertson sitting on the bench as the game wore on:
I just went with three lines. I didn’t think he had much going on.
On Anthony Stolarz’s performance:
He was excellent. He gave us a chance to win.
On what he expects from the Penguins on Saturday night in Pittsburgh:
They are going to play hard. They have some really good players over there who are very good still. That is a team that is desperate and looking for wins. It is going to be a hard battle for sure.
