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

After Tuesday’s practice, Craig Berube discussed his goaltending situation with Joseph Woll’s shaky past two starts and Anthony Stolarz’s conditioning stint with the Marlies, Jake McCabe’s rough patch, and the status of his other injured players. 

What have you learned about Joseph Woll’s ability to navigate stretches when the puck is going in more than he’d like it to?

Berube: He has been really good about it with bounce-back games. I expect him to be fine. He works. He is a good pro who works through things. He looks at the video for the things he can do better. He and Curtis Sanford work closely. He’ll get through it.

What are you hoping Anthony Stolarz will get out of a conditioning stint with the Marlies? Is there a sense of how long he’ll be there?

Berube: It’s a full practice, and a lot of different types of work and shots. It is important for him to get that in before he is ready to go. Right now, I have no timeline on it.

It seems like no team can get through an NHL season anymore without three goalies. Do you feel like you have those solutions in-house?

Berube: For sure. The situation early in the season didn’t look very good, but Dennis has come in and has done a great job for us. We have a good core group of goalies here; Artur Akhtyamov, in the minors, is playing excellently down there. That’s good to see. Stolarz should be good to go here soon, hopefully, and we’ll go from there. We’re fortunate, for sure.

Have you made a decision in net for Wednesday’s game?

Berube: We’ll see tomorrow. I haven’t made that decision yet. I have to talk to the goalie coach and the goalies.

Speaking of goalies, there was a goalie fight in the Sharks vs. Panthers game. Do you remember any of those from your playing days?

Berube: I have seen a few of them. Probably one of the most memorable is when I was coaching the Flyers, and Ray Emery was in the net for me. He is a tough customer.

I can’t remember; something started down at the other end, so Ray just took all his stuff off and skated all the way down. He grabbed a goalie for the Capitals — Holtby — and Holtby said, “I’m not a fighter!” Ray said, “Well, you’d better protect yourself!” Ray was tough.

There have been some good ones over the years — Patty Roy and Mike Vernon, maybe. There have been some good ones with some good rivalries back in the day. You don’t see it too often anymore.

As a coach, have you learned any tactics to defuse the pressure that can build up as the games get bigger and bigger in the standings during this homestand?

Berube: Yeah, pressure is pressure. I don’t know how you defuse pressure. We’ve had an extremely good record at home. Last night, we didn’t play our best, and we got beaten, obviously. But tomorrow is a huge game. We know that. Detroit is in our division. We’ll be ready for the game.

What have the Red Wings done this season that has allowed them to climb the standings?

Berube: I think they’ve gotten really good goaltending to start with. That is a good team. They have good young players, and some of their veteran guys are playing well — Kane, Debrincat, Copp, Chiarot, Larkin, Raymond. Finnie has played well for them, and the young guys are doing a good job. They’re playing well as a team, more than anything. They’re playing a good team game, and it has led to their success.

Jacob Quillan said he felt his confidence had increased throughout the season.

Berube: For sure. As I’ve talked about, from last year to this year, there has been a huge growth. He is a very dedicated guy. I see him here early, preparing all the time and working in practice. His work ethic in practice has gotten really good. That is a big part of it. He has come in here and has played really well for us.

Did you contemplate keeping Jake McCabe and Brandon Carlo together for the next game?

Berube: No, not really. During the game (against Minnesota), McCabe and OEL weren’t at their best. I just switched it up.

McCabe has said that he wants to get back to his level. Where can he improve after this tough recent stretch?

Berube: I mean, every player goes through tough stretches at times. I think there is some situational play where it doesn’t normally happen to him — a little bit of puck play, and just being a little more direct with the puck. His job is as a shutdown guy who PKs. Get back to your strengths, more than anything.

McCabe said that the practice today was helpful.

Berube: Yeah, as I said, if you don’t practice, you lose structure. I thought that we lost structure on our PK last night. We lost structure in our five-on-five defensive game last night — and throughout the trip a little bit, too, at times. It was good to get back to it and work on some of the defensive-zone stuff today.

Is there an update on William Nylander?

Berube: Nothing new. He is still doing his rehab and stuff off the ice. There has been nothing on the ice yet. I don’t have a timeline for when he will be on the ice.

Will Matthew Knies remain a game-time decision?

Berube: It will be similar to yesterday. Talking to him today, he felt better, which is good news. I expect him to play tomorrow.

Is it just maintenance for Troy Stecher?

Berube: Yeah, nothing (major). He should be good to go for tomorrow, too. It was more of a maintenance day for him after something last night. But he should be fine.

Practice Lines – Jan. 20

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