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

After Saturday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed Dakota Joshua’s progress toward a return to the lineup, Matthew Knies’ skating since the break, preparation for the return to NHL action, and the Canada vs. USA gold medal game.

The practice looked intense today. How are things rounding into shape ahead of the return to NHL action on Wednesday?

Berube: Good. I’ve been happy with the practices. Today, I wanted to get some controlled scrimmaging in there, with some battles and so on. That is the stuff that will be really important in the game. The practices have been good; the guys have worked hard and have been pretty detailed out there with the areas we need to dial in. So far, so good.

Is Matthew Knies okay after the little incident in practice?

Berube: Yeah, he was fine. He seemed okay afterward. He continued on. I was a little worried; I wasn’t sure what it was, but he seems fine.

What have you seen from Knies this week after he returned from some time off?

Berube: He’s skating better. There is more pop and more jump, especially with his quickness from here to there. There is just that pop that was missing for a while.

Is there more clarity on Dakota Joshua, especially after an intense practice like this one?

Berube: Yeah, that was a hard one for him today, with the battles. That is where you’re really going to feel it in a game. He is going to have to continue to work on it a little bit before the games, but so far, so good with him. It is not going to come back this quickly. It will take some time.

We’ve talked about how he is feeling and where he is at — how winded he is getting, how early he is getting winded, and so on. I’ll definitely have another conversation with him. We have to make sure he is ready to go. We can’t just [throw] him in there. We have to make sure he is ready to go and that he can help us.

Do you have a sense of when William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson will return to the team after the Olympics?

Berube: They are back, but I don’t think they’ll skate tomorrow. Maybe one of them will if he feels like he wants to, but they are going to skate on Monday and Tuesday. That’s a fact.

What are you seeing from your captain over at the Olympics, and what is the benefit of this experience for him?

Berube: The benefit… I mean, that is a big deal over there. The Olympics are huge. We are looking forward to a great game. Having our captain here be the captain for that team and lead them this far is exciting. I am cheering for our players, but I am Canadian, too. I am torn a little bit.

I am just looking forward to watching a great game, and the games have been great. They’re tight and close. It’s good hockey.

What is your biggest takeaway from the Olympic tournament? Is there anything that’s been more interesting than you thought?

Berube: Just the goaltending is a big key for both teams. Canada clearly has outshot their opponents, and the goalies have played extremely well. I’ve noticed that Canada doesn’t quit. Nothing changes. They keep going about their business. They keep pushing and pushing and pushing. When I was watching yesterday, I was like, “eventually, they’re going to tie it up.” And they did.

There are moments in games that are critical with saves. Binnington has come up with those moments for Canada so far. The goalies, on the other side, have been really good.

I thought the States played a really good [semifinal] and controlled it from the get-go against the Slovaks.

Do you have a prediction for the game?

Berube: I’m not going to predict anything. I’ll stay quiet and watch.

Are you going to watch it as a team?

Berube:  Yeah, we’ll be in here. We’re going to have a later practice, so we can finish watching the game tomorrow. The guys will all be in here, huddled around watching the game. We’ll wait until it’s over to hit the ice.

Practice Lines – Feb. 21

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR