Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, which improved the team’s record to 18-9-2.
On the team’s performance:
Pretty good game. A really good third with the lead. We only gave up one chance in the third.
We had a lot of opportunities to score and didn’t put it in the net enough, but I thought our game was pretty good.
On Anthony Stolarz’s status after leaving the game at the first intermission:
We will know more tomorrow. Lower-body right now.
On the concern level after seeing Stolarz exit the game:
It is concerning for sure. I didn’t see when it happened in the game or anything, but hopefully, we get good news out of it.
On when he found out about the Stolarz injury:
It was in between periods. He got checked out and couldn’t go.
On Max Pacioretty’s two-goal, three-point game:
He has scored in this league for a number of years. He is a 30-goal scorer. He is strong around the net. He has a good stick. He has a good shot. He plays a heavy game.
The line was really good for us tonight. They controlled the play every time they were out there. They had plenty of opportunities to score. They played good, hard hockey tonight.
On whether it’s concerning to see Auston Matthews struggle to finish on so many opportunities:
I am not concerned with it. I would be more concerned if he wasn’t getting the opportunities.
He is playing good hockey. He is playing 200 feet defensively, winning faceoffs, and killing penalties. He is doing a lot of good stuff for the team.
Yes, we need him to produce, and he will. Sometimes, they don’t go in, but he is getting the looks. He is taking pucks to the net hard. He is playing a physical game.
It is 200 feet. He plays against top lines on the other team, penalty kills, and plays key situations in our own end. He is doing a lot of good stuff.
I get we need him to score, but I am not concerned about it. It will go in.
On the team’s ability to get pucks to the net with traffic tonight:
We did a good job. We scored some good goals around the net. Our shot attempts were way up, as we talked about. 30 or more hit the net. It was a lot of good stuff that way.
On the security of having a second goalie of Woll’s calibre available when Stolarz went down:
It is important. I thought Woll did a really good job coming in. That’s never easy. He made a couple of big saves for us — one in the third, later on in the third. He did a good job coming in.
It is important. We are fortunate to have two guys who have played extremely well this year.
On the effectiveness of the team’s forecheck in the game:
Domi’s line — Minten, Domi, and Holmberg — had a real strong game for us with their forecheck, keeping pucks in the offensive zone and creating some opportunities.
I thought our forecheck got better as the game went along, which was important.
On how many players in the league can score William Nylander’s 2-0 goal:
Not me.
He is a talented, talented guy. I don’t know if I have seen a guy get more breakaways (laughs). He gets one a game, at least. Sometimes, he gets more.
Willy was really good for me tonight. All around, he did a lot of good things — not just the opportunities and the chances he gets, which was a lot, and I know he is not happy about not putting more in the net. But he worked. He did a lot of good things and made strong plays. His puck battles were high — he won a lot of battles for the puck, which is important.
Nylander 18th of the Season vs Ducks courtesy of @Bonsie1951 and @Jim_Ralph. @LeafsJelly pic.twitter.com/NQg19dlmpR
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) December 13, 2024
