Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach

After Monday’s practice, Craig Berube discussed Anthony Stolarz’s candid post-game interview on Saturday, his team’s play at the net fronts, and the performance of the power play through six games.

Practice Lines – October 20

What did you make of Anthony Stolarz’s comments after the game on Saturday? 

Berube: Well, it is frustration. I’d prefer it to stay in the room, but it happens. We moved on from it.

How did you go about moving on from it? Is there a meeting that happens?

Berube: For sure, we just talk about it and move on. Listen, it happens a lot. It has happened over years and years. Players get frustrated, and sometimes they say things that they could just keep in the room. That’s all. It’s over with.

Stolarz is a passionate guy. What are the benefits to passionate people in a locker room?

Berube: It brings out emotion for me. They care. A lot of guys will voice that in the room, which is a good thing. It is just accountability, basically. There is nothing wrong with that.

We always want players to hold each other accountable in the locker room. To me, that is a good thing. It is healthy for the team.

People get frustrated. Players get frustrated. Coaches get frustrated. Sometimes, things are said. That is all part of the game. We are all big boys. You move on from it, and you get ready for the next game.

Stolarz made the point that your team should be doing what other teams are doing to him, which is to get in the face of the goalie. 

Berube: I agree. We have talked about it quite a bit. We could do a better job of being harder around the offensive net, getting there more, and fighting for space. It makes it tough on the goalie and tough on the other team.

Net fronts are important, whether you are defending them, or getting there offensively. For sure, that is an opportunity for us. We have to be better in that situation.

You mentioned wanting to do a better job clearing the front of your own net. How much is that positional?

Berube: It is positional; it is not only the willingness to do it. It is positional, and it is finding your guys early enough to be able to box them out. It doesn’t always happen; there are a lot of good players who are good at fighting for the net and getting to the net.

We were really good at it last year. We are going to keep banging away at it.

Having said that, is there a high level of trust, knowing it is the same six defensemen?

Berube: Yeah, for sure. It is a veteran D core. It will stay the same for tomorrow.

Do you feel the number of power plays the team has drawn is around where it should be, or do you feel like you should be getting a few more of those?

Berube: Haha, it is not up to me. It is what it is. I am not going to sit here and complain about calls. We don’t get anything out of that.

If you want to get power plays, you have to earn them and work for them. We will continue to do that. We drew four last game, which is an upgrade from where we were. We will focus on that.

What has been your takeaway from the power play so far?

Berube: I look at a lot of different things on it. I think we are attempting shots, shooting pucks, and we have a couple goals now. That is a good thing, but when we are at our best, it is a shot mentality. We have a couple of big guys around the net, and we win those battles and score some goals around there.

The one area where we could be better is hitting the net. I think we have missed opportunities on the power play where we miss the net.

You had been using Max Domi down the middle since the Scott Laughton injury. Why is he moving to the wing now?

Berube: That was a plan we had, trying Max there. I know he had played in the past with those guys. I just wanted to get to that, see how it looks, and see where we go from there. That’s the reason.

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