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

After Friday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed Pontus Holmberg’s penalty-drawing abilities, Auston Matthews’ five-game goalless streak, and sticking by the Nylander-Tavares-Marner line for Saturday in Vancouver.

Practice Lines – Feb. 7

It was a quick practice session today. What were you looking to accomplish?

Berube: We played yesterday and flew in, so we just wanted to get in a little movement before the game tomorrow. It is a four o’clock game. We just wanted to get on the ice, touch the ice a little bit, move the puck, get the guys up and moving a little bit. That’s it.

It looks like the Nylander-Tavares-Marner line is going to receive another look on Saturday. What are you hoping to see from them in their second go-around?

Berube: Execution, more than anything. For me, there were some times when they had good situations set up, but they didn’t execute it. The puck execution in the game — the whole game — was not great from us by any means. If they execute, the line can be very dangerous, for sure.

What do you see in Pontus Holmberg’s game that allows him to draw so many penalties?

Berube: It is the way he can hang onto pucks. He is strong on the puck down low in the offensive zone. It is hard to get it off of him, and he draws a lot of penalties that way. That is why he has drawn so many.

He is very strong on it and holds people off. That’s probably the reason for it. It is one of his strengths.

Auston Matthews has zero goals in his last five games, but the assists are coming. What are you seeing in his game right now?

Berube: I think he is playing pretty well. He had six shots last night, and three or four of them were very dangerous. They will go in. He just has to keep getting the looks. He is making plays, too. His game is good, and he is playing a well-rounded game at both ends of the ice and killing penalties.

He just has to keep getting the opportunities.

We fixate on the goals, but is Matthews underestimated as a playmaker?

Berube: I think he sees the ice very well and moves the puck very well, personally. He has a very good skill set. It is not just scoring goals. His defensive play and his stick details on the defensive side of the puck are excellent. He has the playmaking ability. He is a pretty well-rounded player.

What did you think of Simon Benoit dropping the gloves at the end of a long shift in Seattle?

Berube: With the collision at the blue line, he had a long shift. He might have been more pissed off about that. It is tough when you drop your gloves on a long shift like that.

He got engaged. It happens at times. Emotions get involved. That’s all it was.

How much do you look at the video of when the Canucks visited Toronto in preparation for Saturday’s game?

Berube: That was a while ago, but we do take stuff from there and look at it a little bit. It was a low-event game, for sure. There was not a lot going on in that game. We definitely have to create more than we did. We didn’t give up much, but from an offensive standpoint, in terms of [accomplishing] things with the puck, we weren’t good enough.

The Canucks have reset their roster with some big moves. How big of a challenge is it to prepare for a team that looks so different?

Berube: I don’t think their game changes any. There are just different players you have to game plan for. The guys they added are good players. We know those players. But their game, and the way they play, is not going to change. It’s just new personnel.

Auston Matthews on a Nylander-Marner line: “The chemistry is there from the amount of time on the power play and all of the time we’ve been around each other”

Matthews: They are both extremely gifted with the puck, both have good vision, and both can score. I don’t think they have had a lot of time together in the past, but I think the chemistry is there from the amount of time on the power play and all of the time we have been around each other. They are two guys who can make plays, and Johnny as well.

Matthews on his five-game goalless drought: “The opportunities are there”

Matthews: It has been fine. You always want to play better and score, but the opportunities are there. We are still producing as a line, the power play has been good, and it has been a good road trip so far.

Simon Benoit on his fight vs. Oliver Bjorkstrand: “It was an easy way to get a whistle”

Benoit: I went to hit, reverse hit, and blah blah blah. We were both tired, and we just went at it. I had to get a whistle somewhere. I was on the ice for a long time there, and it was an easy way to get a whistle.

After a long shift in your zone like that, fighting is never easy. I got a couple of punches, and then I had to wait it out a bit.

Good for him. I am on the bigger side, and he didn’t back down. All good.

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