Berube defends Nylander's Decision To Leave Leafs Shorthanded On Capitals' Third Goal
Leafs head coach Craig Berube chimes in on William Nylander's decision to fly the Maple Leafs' defensive zone ahead of the Capitals' go-ahead goal.
At the end of October, a story broke that William Nylander had demanded more ice-time from head coach Craig Berube.
Berube got creative to help boost Nylander's ice time by occasionally using him on the penalty kill and gave Nylander permission to stay out on the second power-play unit, which he has taken full advantage of, often playing the full two minutes before changing.
During Monday's game against the Winnipeg Jets, Nylander was out for the entire four minute power-play after Morgan Rielly was cut with a high-stick from Mason Appleton.
As a result, Nylander's shift was almost five minutes total, which led to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos calling out Berube for his preferential treatment of the Swede.
On Saturday night, Nylander came under fire for a completely different reason. On Nick Dowd's goal that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead, Nylander flew the coop in the defensive zone in anticipation of the Leafs getting control of the puck and getting a fast break.
Unfortunately, the Capitals got control back and converted with the Leafs down a man in the defensive zone, with Nylander unable to get back in time to properly defend.
Nylander took some flak for his decision in the 5-2 loss, and after the game, Berube was asked about the 40-goal scorer's decision to fly the zone and, surprisingly, defended him.
He's gotten breakaways from it and putting a team in a tough situation. But that whole shift for me started in neutral zone where we had an opportunity to get the puck deep and get a line change, and we don't. Now they're back in our zone, and we get the puck again.
There are probably two or three opportunities where we get the puck, and we didn't get it out, and then it's in our net. Those are the mistakes that cost us tonight."
Berube emphasized the Leafs' inability to clear the puck multiple times during the shift and an opportunity for the entire line to change prior to the Capitals sustaining pressure.
However, as Berube noted, Nylander has successfully blown the zone a number of times over his career, finding tremendous success in the process. It was a series of unfortunate mistakes that ultimately cost the Leafs on the Capitals' go-ahead goal.
With a couple of days off before they take on the New York Islanders Tuesday, the Leafs will surely be reviewing tape of their mistakes and will look to clean them up against a stingy Islanders club early in the new week.
