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

Ahead of Saturday’s game against Boston, Craig Berube discussed the impact of Scott Laughton’s return, the team’s recent wins, the challenge against the Bruins, and Zdeno Chara’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Was Scott Laughton’s penalty against Utah a “good” penalty to take when he is sticking up for his goalie in that spot?

Berube: Yeah, I didn’t mind it at all. He is that type of guy who is going to do what he has to do for his teammate. I have no problem with it.

You’ve highlighted Laughton’s chatter on the bench. In what ways does his influence the team with his voice?

Berube: He has energy. That’s just him: a talkative guy, a team guy, and a good character guy who has been around for a long time and understands the game very well. Having him and Steven Lorentz on the bench, I felt like there was more energy, chatter, and talk.

The last four periods might have been the most consistent play from the team consecutively. Why did it take so long to get there?

Berube: I don’t know. There has been a lot of good hockey, but not consistently for 60 minutes. That is a challenge all the time early on in the season, but definitely, the last four periods of hockey are some of the best we’ve played this year — not just the scoring part, but the all-around game of how we want to play. We have to keep building on it, and hopefully, we will continue it to start the first period tonight.

How much can you build off the momentum of the identity the team played with in the last game — the north-south, cycle game?

Berube: When you have success, and you show the guys and have conversations with the guys about it all, they obviously believe in it more and understand it is a good recipe for us to be successful. We will need it tonight against this team. We have to play that type of game against the Boston Bruins, for sure.

What has stood out about Brandon Carlo’s play over the last three or four games?

Berube: I’d say he’s being more assertive and aggressive, more than anything. Our whole D core is getting harder around our net, harder in the corners, and more physical. He is a part of that.

With Chris Tanev back on the ice, is there a better sense of his timeline?

Berube: He is progressing in the right direction, I would say, more than anything. It is his first time on the ice, just by himself.

What stood out about Fraser Minten in his time as a Leaf?

Berube: Very mature for his age. Very high hockey IQ. A two-way centerman who really has good instincts for the game and his defensive responsibilities, but he has offensive upside. He is a good player.

What stands out about the challenge presented by the Bruins?

Berube: They have been a certain way for a long time. They’re a hard team. We know it is going to be a hard game with the Bruins; it always is. They’re physical, and they have some size both on the backend and up front. With the Bruins, it is always a challenge with the game within the game. Yeah, they’ve got talented players — Pastrnak, McAvoy, and players like that — but it is more the identity of the game against the Bruins.

Zdeno Chara will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend. You played in the final against him in 2019. What do you recall about his ability to impact the game?

Berube: Well, he could do it in a number of different ways. I played with Chara in Long Island for half a year. He was a young kid then, but I could tell that he was going to be something special. He wasn’t polished like he became as a player, but from watching him daily, you could see how he went about things on the ice, in the gym, how dedicated he was, how hard he worked, and the size and strength he has.

He can impact the game in a lot of different ways. He was definitely hard to play against as a forward; he just smothered you with his reach, strength, and size. He could fight. He had the ability to shoot the puck and score from the point. He could control the game.

When you think about all of the great defensemen who played in the NHL, most of them could control the game in certain ways. Nik Lidstrom controlled it a different way than Chara. But they all had the ability to control the game, and he could definitely do that.

From an Xs and Os point of view, did you have to change your game plan to get pucks by or around Chara?

Berube: For sure. We would talk to our guys. Back in the Philly days, we played against him in the playoffs a few times. It was always about, “If you don’t do things quickly or early enough on him, he will kill the play.” It was always about just doing it a little bit earlier, a little bit quicker, and putting a puck behind him so he had to turn and go get it.

If you go and try to be physical or take the body on him, you are probably going to lose that battle. We talked a lot about going through the arms and stick on him, and making it difficult because he has a long reach. He has such a long stick. That is how we tried to make it difficult for him, but we weren’t very good at it.

Morning Skate Notes – Nov. 8

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