Head Coach Craig Berube Gives Honest Assessment of Maple Leafs' Pre-Season Opener
FOLLOW US
Photo credit: Maple Leafe
Craig BerubeToronto Maple Leafs handled themselves during their pre-season opener against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday evening.
It would appear as though the Maple Leafs still have a lot to learn about starting on time, even though Sheldon Keefe is now gone and Craig Berube has been brought in to replace him. The Leafs managed just 2 shots on goal through the first 20 minutes, and while the game did go to overtime, it was the Senators who came out victorious, stealing a 6-5 win from the home team at Scotiabank Arena.
Following the loss, Berube addressed the media, and while he had some good things to say about Nikita Grebenkin and Max Pacioretty in light of their standout performances, he wasn't very complimentary of the team as a whole, alluding to the fact that there are plenty of things to clean up as camp progresses. His comments can be heard around the 11-minute mark in the video near the bottom of this article.
"In the first period, we come out and we're just slow, and didn't move the puck quick enough. That's why we ended up with 2 shots on net in the first period. Didn't want to shoot at times, too cute at times. Got better at times, but overall -- it's training camp, you know? Gotta work on things, we gotta clean things up. Gotta clean up our puck play, gotta clean up our directness and how we wanna play."
It wasn't all bad from Berube, though, as he did enjoy the effort from his team in the third frame. He did, however, wish to establish that he expects that effort for a full 60 minutes.
"Third period was our best period, obviously. We had 24 shots, you know, we need more of that. All game. 60 minutes."
The Maple Leafs are back in action for their second game of the pre-season on Tuesday night in a grudge match against Ottawa at Canadian Tire Centre. The roster for that one has not yet been established.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 23 | 925 ANSWERS Head Coach Craig Berube Gives Honest Assessment of Maple Leafs' Pre-Season Opener How many goals should we expect from Max Pacioretty this season? | ||
| 10 or less | 60 | 6.5 % |
| 11-15 | 231 | 25 % |
| 16-25 | 512 | 55.4 % |
| More than 25 | 122 | 13.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
TRENDING NOW
