After Wednesday’s practice, Craig Berube discussed the latest updates on Chris Tanev, Scott Laughton, and Joseph Woll, as well as his team’s recent losses and the play of the Matthews-Knies line.
Why did you decide to make today’s practice optional?
Berube: We have back-to-back games coming up. We have an early game on Saturday here in Toronto. I felt we would get more out of a meeting and talking with the guys — a team meeting — and then the guys can do what they feel they need to do today.
There are guys who are banged up, and we had to keep off the ice anyway. It wouldn’t have been a full practice. We will get a full skate in tomorrow, and then we have back-to-back games.
How is Chris Tanev doing after last night’s injury? How would you describe how big a hole he leaves in the defense?
Berube: Right now, he is doing better today. He is questionable right now.
It’s a hole. We all know what he does with the team and what he brings. It is part of the game. You deal with it. Everybody has to step up.
How close is Scott Laughton? Is there an updated timeline for his return?
Berube: I think he will probably be on the ice tomorrow, maybe. I think it might be his first day on the ice tomorrow. He is training really well and is doing really well in that department. I expect him to get on the ice, see how he feels, and if everything is going well, hopefully, he will be on the ice with us shortly.
The team has been stumbling a bit lately. Is a little bit of adversity a good thing in the long run?
Berube: It can be. We have all been through these situations before. It is just a matter of working on fixing them and getting the right mindset. For me, it is all mental. We have to put 60 minutes together, play to our identity for 60 minutes, and understand what we need to do to be successful. We have to keep banging away at it and working at it.
Sometimes, early adversity is okay. It is all part of it. You go through it throughout the year. We are going through it right now.
This is a veteran team. Are you surprised there is a mental block or issue at this point?
Berube: I don’t know if I am surprised. Whether they are a veteran group or not, it is about finding chemistry with some of our new guys coming in and where they fit. They’re trying to prove themselves a little bit.
Our whole team, in general, is shooting themselves in the foot at different times in the game when there is no need to do that. We didn’t do that stuff last year. If we lost a game, we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot; we just got beat. Maybe it was a better team that night, or maybe a couple of bounces went their way.
It seems like we are almost playing 50-50 hockey out there, and we don’t want to do that. We want to play to our identity. We want to be a solid team and a checking-type team defensively. If you want to give teams odd-man rushes in this league, they will make you pay for it eventually, especially a team like Jersey, who has ton of skill. Buffalo has skill.
That is the area that is hurting our team. You have to clean it up. If we clean it up, we are going to give ourselves such a better opportunity to succeed.
How have you felt about the team’s play in the neutral zone? Are you seeing enough of them dumping it in with purpose?
Berube: No, not enough of that. Yes, we do it for a while, but then it goes away. It has to be consistent all the time. It has to be your first thought, and if it isn’t your first thought, it is too late. That is how quick the league is. It has to be our first thought, and we have to get that back.
Regardless of who is on the right side of their line, what can Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies do to generate more offensive-zone time?
Berube: For me, when you want to create offensive zone time, you have to put pucks in with a purpose. You have to go and get it, be physical, be heavy on your sticks, and win those battles to get those pucks back. They just have to do a better job of it. That is really the bottom line.
You’ve turned to William Nylander on the Matthews and Knies line situationally throughout games lately. Is it a trio you would ever stick with full-time?
Berube: It could be. Obviously, I always want a little balance. It is definitely something I am thinking about.
Coming up on the schedule are a bunch of teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season. Is it an opportunity to maybe stack some points?
Berube: I never look at where a team was at last year. It is different this year. In saying that, I don’t ever look at an opponent — whether they made the playoffs last year or not — as somebody we can take advantage of. It is a hard league. Every team is good. You have to be prepared to battle and play the right way against any opponent.
Buffalo has a lot of talent and is a good team right now. They are starting to come along. They are doing some good things.
I don’t look at it that way. I focus on our team and what we need to do. We have to worry about what we are doing.
What is Joseph Woll’s current status?
Berube: I don’t really have an update for you right now on Joe. He is doing fine. As I said, when he is back, he is back.
Is he skating and on the ice?
Berube: When he is back, he is back. That is all I have.
Do you communicate with Woll?
Berube: No, not right now. I don’t.
