Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres, which improved the team’s record to 21-10-2.
On Matt Murray winning in his first start since April 2023:
I thought he was solid in the net. I am very happy for him.
It was a long road getting back. I talked earlier this morning about how it was a big commitment that he made to want to get back and play in the NHL. He went through a lot. I am very happy for him.
He has played a lot of games in the NHL. He has won. He was pretty calm and cool all day, I thought. I didn’t notice too much emotion or anything like that. He was pretty dialed in.
On the team battling for Murray:
I thought our team played really hard in front of him. The first period was key. With the way we came out in the first and dictated the game — the pace of the game and how we were going to play — they were dialed in for him.
On the importance of Murray joining the stable of goaltenders available to the team:
It is important. We have two goaltenders in the AHL who are young. This guy has experience in the NHL. That is a big deal.
On Morgan Rielly stepping in to fight Tage Thompson:
I love it. I have no problem with that. We’ll kill that penalty off.
Mo is a team-first guy. I thought it was great.
Rielly fights Thompson after getting Matthews gets hit courtesy of @Bonsie1951 and @Jim_Ralph. pic.twitter.com/VakGtmD6mR
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) December 21, 2024
On the call to challenge the late 5-4 goal by Buffalo:
The video guys did a great job. They study this stuff. They were dialed in on it.
I did see it on the monitor, and it looked to me like it was goaltender interference. I was fairly confident.
On the offensive explosion from the McMann-Domi-Robertson third line:
For me, it is all hounding, hustle, and playing fast. All three of them can skate. When there is a breakdown, they are going the other way quickly. They did that tonight on two of the goals.
On another goal, it is just hounding in the offensive zone. They are using their speed, skating, and tenacity. That is what I see out of them right now.
On the rejigged defense pairings (Rielly-Timmins / Benoit – McCabe / OEL – Tanev):
I thought they were really good tonight. I thought our D played excellently. I really did.
It is a tough team. They make plays. We had to eat pucks, which we did. We blocked shots and had good sticks.
I thought our D were pretty good. They moved the puck well up the ice. They didn’t give up many odd-man rushes, if any. There were some 3v2s, but we had a tracker coming back.
Overall, I thought we did a good job of not letting their rush beat us tonight.
