Craig Berube addressed the media after his team’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, which dropped the Maple Leafs’ record to 24-17-9.
On a tight 2-1 contest:
Pretty even game. I thought we had a lot of chances in the first two periods, and we couldn’t get it by him. They made a pretty good push in the third. Both goalies were really good tonight. That’s what I saw.
On the team’s losing record in overtime:
You can work on it, but it is about video and what we’re doing. [Cowan] just got overpowered there at the end, and they ended up scoring on it.
On Easton Cowan’s learning curve:
I thought he made some really good plays tonight. He does good things, and then there are things he has to do better. It’s a typical young player in the league. There are plays where he has to recognize that there is nothing there and make a strong play. But he makes plays, and he made some good plays again tonight.
It’s normal for a young guy, where he’s at. He has to get stronger and make better decisions at times.
On Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s status after leaving the game early:
Lower body right now. I’ll know more tomorrow after they’ve evaluated him and we see where he’s at.
On OEL’s value to the team this season:
A lot. We all know how well he has played and what he provides for our team. We lost him early tonight, and I thought our five D competed extremely hard. It is hard playing 58 minutes with five D.
On the play of Scott Laughton’s line:
They were good. They got us a goal, but they played against one of their top lines most of the night and did a good job against them. They didn’t give up much, checked well, and did what they do. They killed penalties. They were good.
On Joseph Woll’s 39-save performance:
Great response by him. He was really good. He made a lot of good saves, including on their power play. He gave us a chance to win tonight.
On how Mitch Marner should be remembered in the Toronto market:
He did a lot for the Leafs as a player and a person. He was a great player here and a great person. He did a lot for the community. He played a lot of good hockey here.
On whether the team can feed off the atmosphere in the building on Friday vs. Vegas:
I don’t think it has anything to do with Mitch or the electricity in the building. We just need the same mindset we had tonight. I thought our guys were competitive tonight. There were a lot of good things. We have to go into every game that way right now. That’s where we’re at.
