Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in the season opener.
On the team’s performance:
There was a lot of good, and there was stuff we have to work on, obviously. We did a good enough job to win the game.
I thought our third period was our best period. We did a good job protecting the lead and closing it out.
The goalie was good.
We had some players who were really good tonight.
Overall, our puck play wasn’t great. That was the root of our problems, in general.
On why the puck play was sloppy:
I don’t know. Maybe the guys will blame the ice; I don’t know what they’ll blame, but it wasn’t good.
Sometimes, it’s the first game of the year… It wasn’t all bad. I think it is decision-making more than anything, and understanding the speed of the game.
You practice and play the exhibition games, but the level of intensity and the speed are not there. All of a sudden, you are in a regular-season game and you’re playing the Montreal Canadiens, who are fast and on you. You don’t have much time.
You have to make split decisions, and we were slow in our decision process, whether it is moving it from a D to a forward, or a forward making a quick decision on what they’re going to do with the puck.
It was even there when getting pucks deep. It is a second here or there, and it is a turnover.
On Bobby McMann’s performance:
I liked Bobby a lot tonight. He skated well. He was hard on pucks. Got to the net.
It was a good game by him, and I thought that line was effective for us tonight.
He made a play in the third period. It was kind of later in the game — maybe five minutes or less to go. He had strength down low on the puck, hanging onto it with the thought process in his brain of, “We are up by one. Let’s just grind it down.” That was smart by him.
He had a solid game.
On Morgan Rielly’s big game (game-winning goal, assist, five shots, nine shot attempts):
He had a real good game. He skated well, moved the puck well, made good reads, and defended well. He was solid tonight. It was great to see him have a good game.
On why Rielly didn’t reach his usual standard in 2024-25:
I don’t know. I don’t have the answer for that. I wish I did. I think he got to a good standard over time.
Coming in, we tried to change the style of the team — not so much run and gun, more controlling the game, and good defense. I think he took it to heart about trying to play better defense. Sometimes, when you do that, you are not aggressive enough and you are not jumping into the play because you don’t want to take chances as much. That might have been part of it.
Over time, as the year went along, we talked to him and had conversations about him playing his game. When you have to defend, you defend, but we need you doing the other things offensively.
He got better in the second half of the year and into the playoffs. I thought he was the regular Morgan Rielly again, playing his game.
On how much of Rielly’s offensive freedom is dependent on his partner:
That was one of the reasons why we put Brandon Carlo with him. He is a stay-at-home defenseman. We all know that. It’s what he does. He is really good at protecting his partner.
I think Mo has a little more freedom. Quite frankly, when Carlo came over here, I thought Mo’s game changed quite a bit.
On the Lorentz-Roy-Jarnkrok line’s performance:
Good game by those guys. They were heavy on pucks tonight. They forechecked well and got a goal for us. They did a really good job tonight.
Roy was good in the circle. The line was really predictable and dependable. That is what we want out of them.
Roy and Joshua did a good job killing penalties tonight. I thought our PK was good tonight.
Maccelli did some good things with the puck tonight; in the second period, there were a couple of shifts where he showed his puck possession, hanging onto it and making some plays. That was good to see.
It is early, right? We all have things to work on. We have to be better. Those are the things we have to focus on: keep building on and improving our game and our identity.
On the home fans cheering on the Blue Jays in the crowd:
I get it. Everyone is excited, and the Jays are doing well. It is all fine.
It is a little different, but it is good. We are all into it.
Game Highlights: Maple Leafs 5 vs. Canadiens 2
Goal scorers: Bobby McMann, Calle Jarnkrok, Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews (EN), William Nylander (EN)
