Craig Berube addressed the media after his team’s 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, which dropped the Maple Leafs’ record to 14-12-5.
On where the game got away from the team:
30 seconds to go in the second period, we throw a puck blindly into the slot. First of all, they should’ve changed, but they don’t. We got caught on the wrong side of it and gave up a goal late in the second period after playing pretty well for two periods. It is not smart hockey.
In the third period, a lot like the San Jose game, I didn’t feel like we came out and took control of the period. We let them dictate how it was going to play. The puck play wasn’t good. We didn’t kill any plays.
That is basically the game.
On how much the Oilers’ speed decided the game:
Well, they’re quick. I thought we handled it pretty well for two periods. They are going to get their opportunities with their speed, for sure, but I thought, for two periods, we did a pretty good job.
The third period… I mean, it has been two games in a row at home where we come out and look flat. That is the bottom line for me. Whatever it is… We should’ve been coming out and dictating how we play that third period and the way we wanted to play it. We didn’t do it.
On how the team can start dictating games in the third period:
I don’t know. I talked to the team after the game. Our leaders have to take control of it a lot more than they are right now. To me, it is all a mindset, whether you are down a goal or up, like we were in the San Jose game. You have to have more urgency and be more direct in how we want to play. We didn’t do it in the third period two games in a row.
On whether the Dennis Hildeby pull was more reflective of the team’s play than Hildeby’s:
Yeah, but it has been a lot for him. He was probably a little tired tonight, just from watching him and watching his puck handles. He has played really well for us, and he played well again tonight. He gave us a chance to win.
On William Nylander missing shifts later in the game:
He played tonight, but obviously, he wasn’t even close to 75%. I mean, he is sick. He played, but, you know… I didn’t think there was any reason to keep playing him.
Scott Laughton: “We need to be better in every area of the game. It is just not good enough.”
On what happened to the team in the third period:
It is hard to understand. We just have to be better. We have to be better at managing games and certain situations. You see those guys and know how good they are in moments. It can turn on you that quickly.
We just have to know we don’t have to make the perfect play every shift. It is a 60-minute game for a reason. You have to wear the team down, go the other way, play north, and make them come 200 feet. I didn’t think we did enough of that.
On the role of the Oilers’ speed in the result:
We played into their speed, too. You can limit them a little bit. They obviously have two of the best players in the world, but you can make it harder on them getting up and down the ice.
We need to be better in every area of the game. It is just not good enough.
On whether effort was an issue for the team tonight:
I don’t know. I think sometimes when things go a little south, you start standing and watching. They make it look like that, too, sometimes, when some of their guys get going.
Pick ourselves up and pick up some points at home. We have to start pushing, have some urgency, and get going.
