Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in the third game of the 2024 preseason.
On the team’s performance:
From a defensive standpoint, we were pretty tight defensively. We didn’t give up very much. We played with really good structure tonight on the forecheck, through the neutral zone, and in the defensive-zone coverage. That is what we are looking for. I was pretty pleased with that.
On William Nylander leaving the game for precautionary reasons:
He kind of got pushed from behind by [Robertson]. He fell and went into a guy on the other team. He’ll be okay. He is fine. Nothing to worry about.
On Nick Robertson’s performance and game-winning goal:
Roby is a dynamic skater. He has a motor on him. He just works and works and works.
It is great to see him get the goal there. It was a good track to strip a guy and score.
He is a worker. He has the ability to score goals with his shot. He did a lot of good things tonight.
On Steven Lorentz’s first preseason game:
I thought he was solid. It was exactly what I thought or had seen in the past.
He is a really reliable player. Smart. Great energy. Again, he is a big guy who skates well.
On Easton Cowan’s performance (3 SOG in 15:28) on the top line:
I thought he had a really good game and did a lot of good things. He skated with the puck, was strong on it in some puck battles, and won them.
He hounded tonight, as I expected. He is a good worker with skill. I thought he did that tonight. He had a lot of energy out there and was very noticeable.
On whether he has an affinity for Ryan Reaves and his style of play, knowing Berube’s style of game during his playing career:
Reavo has been a good player in this league for quite some time. I couldn’t skate like Reavo.
Reavo can get there and make contact on the forecheck. He is an effective guy. He is responsible defensively. We have him killing penalties a little bit in preseason.
Again, he is a great teammate. Those are very valuable guys. They are very valuable in the locker room. They’re valuable on the bench and on the ice but also valuable in the locker room.
On whether John Tavares could play a role on the PK:
He is a good faceoff guy, for sure. I used him a little bit there in the first game. We will see what happens. It is early yet.
On Matt Murray’s encouraging camp so far:
This probably started in the summer time. After dealing with injuries, he has had a good and healthy summer. He was able to train and do the things he needs to do.
This guy has won a couple of Cups. He knows how to win. He has been a good goalie.
I think it has just kind of progressed from the summer time through to camp now. He looks solid. He is a big guy who takes up a lot of net.
On managing multiple injury situations during the game:
I don’t really like to go down to three lines, as I had to in the third period. It was a lot of time for the guys, but they did a great job.
I thought we kind of sat back a little too much in the third for me, but when you get down to three lines, you are just trying to manage things. The guys did a good job. There were a lot of guys who did some really good things tonight.
On why John Tavares missed some shifts later in the game:
The leg was stiffening up. I didn’t want to take a chance. It was my call.
