Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, which dropped the team’s record to 27-14-2.
On where the game got away from the team after going up 2-0:
They made a good push, and we had breakdowns in our own zone. We left the slot open too much tonight. We didn’t cover.
I thought we spent too much time in our own zone in general going forward, especially in the second period. We need to kill more plays and come up with more pucks. We didn’t.
It kind of got away from us.
On the Hurricanes’ ability to wear on their opposition:
They are a good team. They are difficult. They work, and they compete down low.
We started off that way. We were killing plays, and we got the puck and went north with it.
It was too much in our zone tonight. It ended up in our net.
On whether he considered moving away from five forwards on the power play after the shorthanded goal early in the second period:
We could’ve defended it, to be honest with you. We actually tracked back. We have to be harder there in the neutral zone on that play. The guy is on his backhand. We just have to take away the pass. That’s it.
There are always going to be concerns with five forwards on the power play at times. We will see what happens, but I liked the power play in general. They got us a goal and had some good looks on the next one. They did some real good things, but we just have to clean up the mistakes.
Too loose.
On Joseph Woll’s performance (five goals on 33 shots):
He probably wants some back, but he has played some real good hockey for us. He made some real good saves tonight, too. I am sure he wants a couple of the goals back, but he has been battling for us and playing well.
On how Woll has handled the increased workload since the Anthony Stolarz injury:
I think he has been fine with it. I don’t see him getting tired or anything like that. He wants the net. He has done a good job.
On William Nylander snapping his seven-game goal-scoring drought:
Early on, he had a 2v1 and a breakaway, and it didn’t go in. He stayed with it.
I thought he was way better tonight. He had a lot of opportunities. He skated and worked. It was good to see.
On what made Jordan Staal’s line a tough matchup in the game:
They are a good line and have been a good line. They are hard to play against, heavy, and above you all the time. They make you work for everything. They ended up capitalizing on a couple of goals.
It is difficult, but we just had too many breakdowns tonight. We have to clean them up.
On Nick Robertson’s game after returning from a healthy scratch:
I liked Robby’s game tonight. He worked, skated, and scored a goal. He had some other opportunities. He was tenacious, working, skating, and doing his thing. He was a good player.
