Craig Berube on Mitch Marner closing in on 100 points: “It’s like a guy scoring 50 goals… It means a lot to the individual, our team, and the organization”

Ahead of Tuesday’s game in Florida, head coach Craig Berube discussed the final game of the regular season against the Panthers and Mitch Marner’s pursuit of the 100-point milestone.

Morning Skate Lines – Apr. 8

Lines at Leafs skate

Knies – Matthews – Marner
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Laughton – Domi – Jarnkrok
Lorentz – Holmberg – Robertson

Ekman-Larsson – Tanev
Rielly – Carlo
Benoit – Myers

Woll
Stolarz

at Panthers tonight @TSN_Sports

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 8, 2025

What is your decision in net for tonight?

Berube: We’re going with [Joseph Woll]. Stoly has seen [the Panthers] three times this year, so I switched it up.

What did you like about how your team handled the game last time against the Panthers in Toronto? What do you want to see the team build on tonight?

Berube: You need patience against this team. They check extremely well and are in your face extremely well. There is not a lot of room. You are going to have to be patient. Simple puck plays are important tonight: putting pucks in behind them and getting pucks out of your zone. Those little things are crucial.

We did a good job of it for all of the game (in Toronto), and we got a couple of good opportunities in the third. We capitalize on them. There were a lot of things we did well, but those are key for me.

How much does Aleksander Barkov’s return change this matchup?

Berube: Well, he is a great player and one of the best 200-foot players in the National Hockey League. He is difficult. Whoever is other there against him, it is hard. He makes their power play better. He makes their penalty kill better. And he makes their five-on-five better.

How close is the team to playoff-ready?

Berube: I think they are close. We have been playing meaningful games for quite some time now. Going into tonight, it is another meaningful game, and the next day. Those are important games going into the playoffs.

Mitch Marner is really close to 100 points. What is your sense of what the milestone would mean to him?

Berube: It is like a guy scoring 50 goals. It means a lot to the individual, our team, and the organization.

He just has to make sure he stays in the moment with things and plays the right way. The points will come. He is a very good player with the ability to do a lot of good things. He just has to stay focused, keep playing his game, and focus on playing a team game.

Do you look at these next two games as playoff previews, or do you stay focused on what your team needs to do?

Berube: Focus on our team and what we need to do. There are things we keep harping on about how we need to play. We know what Florida is all about and how they play. It is not going to change. I focus on our team.

How challenging is it to navigate these back-to-backs to finish the season, knowing rest and playoff prep is so critical?

Berube: That is one of the reasons why we had the day off Sunday and then the option to stay off the ice on Monday, doing something in the gym, or going on the ice for a skills session. We have two sets coming up here, tonight and on the weekend. It is a lot of hockey. Rest is important. That is one way we can do it.