Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach
Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach

Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, which dropped the team’s record to 30-18-2.


On the difference in the game:

We had a lot of opportunities that we didn’t put in the net. I think that is the difference.

The team played hard. We were ready to go. I thought we did a lot of good things except score.

We got better as the game went along.

On the Senators making it tough defensively:

They did a good job not giving up odd-man rushes and things like that. They were back.

We went to work in the offensive zone, and I thought our guys did a good job of hounding, staying on things, and being around the net. There were a bunch of loose pucks around there. We just didn’t put them in.

On his own team’s defensive performance: 

They defended hard. The guys dug in. We were physical in our puck battles and did a good job.

That is a good team over there. We know that. They have a lot of talent.

We just have to stick with it. If you play hockey like that, you are going to win a lot of games. In the end, we just didn’t score enough.

On Bobby McMann’s game on the top line: 

I thought he skated really well. He had six shots on net and scored, obviously. That line was good.

Bobby looked fine up there to me.

On Joseph Woll’s performance:

He did his job. He was really good in the net. He made good saves when we needed them and looked solid. He gave us a great opportunity to win the game.

On Jacob Quillan’s debut, which started with a knee-on-knee collision with Nick Cousins:

That was a tough hit. I didn’t understand how they missed that. To me, that is a knee all day long.

He was fine. It is a tough game for him to play. It got tight, so I didn’t give him a lot down the stretch, but for me, he was fine.

On whether he was tempted to challenge the Senators’ 2-1 game-winning goal: 

I can’t challenge that. It is an upstairs call by the league. They looked at it and said it was a goal.


Jake McCabe: “They got a bounce at the end, and we didn’t get that gritty bounce in front of the net”

McCabe: It was a pretty evenly matched game. They got a bounce at the end, and we didn’t get that gritty bounce in front of the net. We have been talking in the last couple of games about being harder at our net and harder at their net, too.

In the third period, we were coming on and providing some pressure down there. They got the bounce in the front of the net, but I thought we defended pretty well for the most part tonight.

Woll did another great job. Just came up short.


McCabe on how the team can generate more offensively: “Shoot our way in with two at the net” 

McCabe: Shoot our way in. Land two at the net. Pretty simple formula. We’re trying to find shooting lanes, and we defensemen have to deliver pucks when we do have the lanes, with not just one forward but a couple of forwards getting there for some rebounds and second opportunities.


Bobby McMann on the difference in the game: “Sometimes, you just don’t get the bounces” 

McMann: We had a lot of good chances with some good o-zone time. Sometimes, you just don’t get the bounces. You want to give yourself the best odds by getting the puck in their zone and giving yourselves as many chances as possible.


McMann on playing with Matthews-Marner: “Trying to get pucks back is my main focus”

McMann: More than anything, it is competing hard and trying to get pucks back. If we have it on our stick, especially those guys, we are going to make plays. That has been my main focus.

They’re finding me. Mitch is finding me in good spots. At those points, I am trying to shoot the puck. Other than that, I am trying to get pucks back.