Ahead of Thursday’s game in Seattle, head coach Craig Berube discussed his decision to create a Nylander-Tavares-Marner line with Mitch Marner’s return, Morgan Rielly’s game in Calgary, and the high volume of shots the power play has generated recently.
Morning Skate Lines – Feb. 6
Lines at Leafs skate in Seattle
Knies – Matthews – Domi
Nylander – Tavares – Marner
McMann – Holmberg – Robertson
Pacioretty – Kampf – Lorentz
ReavesMcCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Myers
Timmins, MermisStolarz
Woll @TSN_Sports— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 6, 2025
What intrigues you about putting Mitch Marner with William Nylander and John Tavares?
Berube: I kept the line together with Matthews, Domi, and Knies. I thought they had a really good game (in Calgary). I liked Max on the line. It felt like he had more juice in the game. I want to keep him going.
I talked to the guys about William Nylander going on the left wing and Mitch on the right with JT. Mitch has played some really good hockey with JT this year, so we’ll see how it goes.
Do you think it will create some matchup problems for the opposition?
Berube: I think so. There are two lines that are pretty dangerous, for sure.
How might playing the off-wing affect Nylander?
Berube: Well, it is a little bit of a different look for him with his shot. Also, in his own end, I think he can be the guy who can take pucks off the wall on his forehand, get to the middle ice, and make some plays coming out of our zone. That was the other thing I was thinking about.
With the way it worked out with Mitch playing with JT on the right side, I wanted to keep Willy on the line, so I moved him to the left.
Was there any conversation about keeping Morgan Rielly on the top power-play unit?
Berube: It is always a conversation, yes. It is just a matter of fitting everybody.
If you look at JT this year, he has been very good in the bumper for us. He has scored a lot of goals, and he is great at release plays and making plays in there. Knies has done a great job at the net.
That five-forward unit has been good for us. Mo did a great job up top. I really liked Mo’s game all around (in Calgary), but there are always conversations.
What did you like the most about Rielly’s game in Calgary?
Berube: The skating and getting up the ice, being involved in the rush and offensively, and moving in the offensive zone. On the power play, he moved the puck and shot it from the top. He was just direct.
Why do you think the power play has been generating so many shots on goal all of a sudden?
Berube: We talk about it a lot. Whoever is at the top, whenever you have lanes, shoot it. We have those two big guys at the net. On the flanks, it is about getting open, being inside the dots, and getting pucks to the net from there.
It is not always the shooting to score. Yes, a lot of it is shooting to score when they have opportunities, but a lot of it is just getting it in there and creating a lot of chaos. If Matthews is shooting it, Willy should be at the backside around the net, and vice versa.
That is what we are trying to do. It is why we are generating more shots.
Anthony Stolarz calls himself a perfectionist. He has had a lot of practice reps. Are you expecting some rust in his first game back?
Berube: That is a good question. Who knows? We’ll see how the game goes.
We have to do a good job in front of him and make sure that we are tight tonight, limiting their rush game. (The Kraken) have a really good rush game, and we don’t need to be giving them chances off the rush. Our jobs, as defenders and forwards, is being really good defensively, tight, and not giving that stuff up. We have to check hard tonight.
William Nylander is just a handful of games behind the NHL goal-scoring lead. What stands out about his evolution as a goal-scorer this season?
Berube: Well, he shoots it in the net. I don’t know.
He is a highly competitive guy. He wins and strips a lot of pucks from people. He is very good at that, and he has an elite shot. He scores in a lot of different ways — breakaways, pull-and-drag shots, one-timers. He has a lot of abilities to score goals.
It might be human nature to look ahead to the big break coming up. Is that a challenge — keeping the players’ focus where it needs to be?
Berube: Yeah, that is something we discussed before we went on this trip. We have continually discussed it going into Edmonton, Calgary, and then today. Be emotionally invested in what we need to do here and take care of business. The league is tight, and the division is tight. We need points.
What stands out about the challenge presented by Seattle?
Berube: They have a good rush game. With Montour and Dunn back there, they are really involved up in the play. They are a fast team that transitions quickly.
Again, we have to have the puck tonight. We have to hang onto it and force them to play in their own zone as much as we can. That will be the key, as well as reloading, getting above people, checking from behind, and not giving up those opportunities.
They have some good players with a lot of speed — a lot of speed.
