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Leafs Coach Craig Berube Shares Surprising Remarks Following 2nd Consecutive Loss

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Dean Chaudhry
December 8, 2024  (9:26)
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Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube shared some surprising thoughts on his team's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their modest 3-game winning streak snapped on Friday night when they were defeated by the Washington Capitals on home-ice. Unfortunately they were unable to get back in the win column last night when they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Going back to their game on Wednesday night against Nashville, the Maple Leafs have found themselves behind the 8-ball quite often, surrending the first goal in 3 straight games.

While their resiliency shone through in Wednesday night's effort, Berube was unhappy with his team's performance against the Capitals on Friday, but looked to have changed his tune in less than 24 hours despite suffering another defeat in Pittsburgh.

"We had good O-zone time and opportunities, and so I was happy with a lot of the game. You know, there's things we can always clean up, right? But I like the effort to compete. It was really good. Guys are skating and working, so a lot of good things. But we've got to clean up a few things and be better."

The game was close all throughout and it started after Mitch Marner tied the game up 1:56 after Rickard Rakell opened the scoring in the first period. Bryan Rust then gave the Penguins the lead again before the first intermission but William Nylander scored the equalizer with an early power play tally in the 2nd to set up a winner-take-all third period.

Former Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting was credited with the game-winning goal before the Penguins added 2 shorthanded empty net goals to seal the win.

While the score might tell a different story, Berube liked the offensive zone pressure and most of the work the forwards had done throughout the game. Unfortunately, it was just one of those games where Tristan Jarry was up to the task to secure the victory for his club. Joseph Woll lost for the first time since early November, snapping a 6-game win streak for the 26-year-old goaltender.

The loss drops the Maple Leafs to 16-9-2 and back to 2nd place in the Atlantic Division behind the Florida Panthers.

The Buds will look to snap their mini losing streak on Tuesday night in New Jersey and they should be welcoming back Max Domi and Jake McCabe into the fold, which means some lineup changes may be afoot for the Leafs in the coming days.

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Leafs Coach Craig Berube Shares Surprising Remarks Following 2nd Consecutive Loss

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