After Friday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed the return of John Tavares and Matthew Knies to the lineup, the challenge of facing a loaded-up McDavid-Draisaitl line, reuniting Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev on the blue line, and Auston Matthews receiving the “C” for Team USA at the Four Nations tournament.
Practice Lines – Jan. 31
Lines at Leafs practice
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Pacioretty – Tavares – Nylander
McMann – Domi – Robertson
Holmberg – Kampf – Lorentz
ReavesMcCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Timmins
MyersWoll
Stolarzat Oilers tomorrow
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 31, 2025
Hakanpää is skating back in Toronto
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 31, 2025
Are John Tavares and Matthew Knies good to go for tomorrow?
Berube: We will see. They looked good today. They had a full practice and looked good. There is a good chance, but we will see.
How refreshing would it be if they could play — two more finishers around the net front?
Berube: For sure. They are both important players for our team in all areas. When they are out, we miss them. It would be great to get them back — JT down the middle back with Willy, Kniesy as a big body at the net front with all of the things he does on that line.
Is Tavares ahead of schedule?
Berube: I would say he is a little bit ahead of schedule. He was feeling good early. It wasn’t lingering on him so much. He got ahead of it all and did a good job of rehabbing and doing what he needed to do. He is ahead of schedule.
How close is Anthony Stolarz to a return?
Berube: He is close. He is feeling really good. There are no physical ailments. He is solid there. It is just the conditioning and timing parts of getting work. It is good he went through a full practice today. Murray will get some work in, and Stolarz will go on the ice tomorrow for another good work day.
What is the plan for Jani Hakanpaa?
Berube: He is back in Toronto skating and doing things there. Really, I don’t have a timeline for him. I don’t.
What are you looking for with the old-but-new defense pairings?
Berube: We are going up against a pretty good line tomorrow. We all know that. We are going to need those two guys (McCabe and Tanev) to do a good job for us.
I had Caber on the right for a bit, and coming off the injury, I didn’t feel like he was the same over there. OEL and Mo have played together quite a bit this year. We need those top four to be really good tomorrow.
When the Oilers load Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a line together, is it enough to get a coach’s attention and tweak defense pairings?
Berube: At times, for sure. When you load the line up like that, you know how many minutes they are going to play. It is a lot. Those guys are very good and used to it. They can handle it.
We have to be prepared to have two lines to work against those guys in different situations and maybe two defense pairings, too, depending on the situation; power plays and penalty kills come into play, too.
When they load them up, they are hard to handle. It is a hard workload for the line and the defense pair. They make you work for everything. You have to have two lines and four D to play against them when they load them up.
Would you like to start finding some continuity on the pairs?
Berube: It would be nice. There is only so much you can do with injuries and other factors. On the D pairs, guys are coming in and out, so you have to shift it around at times. It’s normal.
You’ve spoken about emotional investment in the past. How important will it be for your team tomorrow night in Edmonton against a Canadian rival that went to the Stanley Cup final last season?
Berube: Any time you play the Oilers, you have to be fired up playing against their team. You have to have emotion involved in the game, for sure. You know they are going to be fired up and ready to go, like always.
The emotional part of the game is huge. We have to have the investment right from the start of the game — right from the start.
With Auston Matthews being named the captain of Team USA in the Four Nations tournament, how have you seen him grow in his time with the C in Toronto this season?
Berube: Opening up more and using his voice more for sure. In the conversations I have with him, I am trying to ask him questions about the team, himself, and what is going on to get feedback from him. He might not have been in those conversations before as much, but being the captain, those are conversations I have him with quite a bit. He is in the room with full investment into what is going on.
And then there is his leadership on the ice and with his play. He works hard. He competes hard. He gives it all every shift and sets the example.
Matthews has said himself that he is not a rah-rah guy.
Berube: No, and there are a lot of captains in the league, and most of them aren’t rah-rah guys. The rah-rah guys were me in the locker room. A captain’s job is to be a good teammate, understand what is going on with the team, say something if something has to be said — which doesn’t happen all the time — and lead by example.
That is the biggest thing: lead by example, play the right way, play the team way, and look after your teammates. If something is going on with a guy, help him out and be there for him, good or bad. That is part of being a captain.
Where do you think there is room for Morgan Rielly to grow offensively?
Berube: More aggressive, for me, and not being tentative. Get up in the play as he normally does and do his thing offensively.
Mistakes happen in the game for everybody. You can’t be focused on mistakes. Use your abilities. He is a good skater who sees the ice well and gets up the ice.
We had a good talk today about pushing a little bit more, getting up in the play, shooting pucks more, and being more aggressive in that area of the ice.
Do you think Rielly has been trying to minimize risk in his game?
Berube: For sure. We asked everybody to minimize risk with how we want to play the game. We don’t want to be a risky team. We want to be a smart hockey team with the puck, but at the same time, he can’t pull too far back. He has to play his game, and we have to let him game.
Mistakes happen, but be aggressive and use your abilities.
Is that a tricky line to walk with Rielly because he has been such an aggressive player since he was a kid?
Berube: It is. It is about finding the sweet spot, as they say.
