Ahead of a do-or-die Game 6 in Florida, head coach Craig Berube discussed his team’s current mentality coming off a tough Game 5 loss, switching David Kampf and Nick Robertson back out of the lineup, and his decision to keep Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on a line together.

Morning Skate Lines – May 16

What is your sense of the group and how they’ve responded to Game 5 ahead of this game?

Berube: Well, Game 5 is over. That’s over with. Excited and ready to go. Go play.

What can you do as a coach to help the players relax after “overthinking” Game 5?

Berube: It is hard to give them a message of, “Relax.” Everyone is nervous. It is normal for both teams. There are always nerves. You have to go out, get involved in the game, and play.

The whole thing for me: We didn’t skate right away in the last game. We stood around and watched. You can’t play that way. We’ve got to skate and get to our identity as a team right away.

With David Kampf and Nick Robertson back out, what led to the change?

Berube: I liked our game with the other guys in the lineup. We lost a couple, added some fresh guys with fresh legs, and the other guys are now rested and ready to go. We played good hockey with that lineup we have tonight.

How seriously did you consider splitting up Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, considering their last game?

Berube:  It is always a consideration. I have split them up at times this year. I never felt that it really did anything, to be honest with you. These guys have been a combo for a long time, and they have had a lot of success. I trust them and believe in them.

You haven’t gotten much out of the bottom six scoring-wise. When the top two lines are canceling each other out, what can they do to create offense?

Berube: We did get contributions in the last series from them. We got a goal from Max Domi in this series. We do need depth to chip in; it is important, for sure, and it is not like they’re not trying to score. They just have to keep doing what they’re doing, and we’ll see what happens with the goals.

We do need contributions from everyone.

How are you approaching this game as a coach? Are you trying to do something different than past games to fire them up in the spur of the moment, or are you approaching it the same?

Berube: It’s normal. It’s a normal day for me. Quick practice, get moving a little bit, a meeting this morning, and then talking to the players about what we need to do better tonight.

It couldn’t have been easy to pull Joseph Woll in the last game. What is your sense of where he’s at mentally ahead of this game?

Berube: He is in the same boat as the team. He has played well in this building, so I am not overly concerned. That game is over with. We have moved on from it. We’re focused on tonight’s game.

He does his preparation, and he has been a good goalie for us all year. I am not worried about him.

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