The Toronto Maple Leafs stand on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They fell 5-1 to the Florida Panthers, marking their second straight loss after the Olympic break. With their playoff hopes fading fast, head coach Craig Berube did not soften his message after the loss, highlighting a lack of urgency.
The Leafs were playing the second game of a back-to-back. They fell 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night and could not find an answer to Sergei Bobrovsky tonight. Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 29 shots faced, while Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll was much busier stopping 32 shots in the loss.
The Leafs’ record fell to 27-23-9, and they sit eight points back of the second wild card spot. Before the Olympic break, Toronto had plenty of momentum, riding a three-game winning streak. However, since the NHL season resumed, they have failed to maintain that form.
Craig Berube Addresses Maple Leafs’ 5-1 Loss to Panthers
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has gone through a rollercoaster of emotions this season.
Toronto has endured stretches where they have lost in dominant fashion. The team has also shown flashes of brilliance, leaving its fan base being optimistic heading into the Olympic break.
During his postgame media availability, Berube was blunt about the team’s lack of urgency, especially after last night’s result.
“It is [concerning], it is the same thing as last night’s game in Tampa. You need [to have urgency] for 60 minutes, especially now. We can’t take any shifts off,” Berube told reporters during his postgame media scrum. “We go down [3-0]. The shorthanded goal was tough.”
He added:
“We know [the Panthers are] going to come out hard like that and push you. You have to weather the storm. We didn’t do a good enough job of weathering that storm in the first period,” he said. “They had more jump and energy than us and won more races, they hemmed us in our zone too much.”
Berube Addresses How Leafs Will Deal with Latest Setback
The Leafs’ management will need to make some tough decision ahead of next Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
Tonight’s 5-1 loss and last night’s result did not help their case. General manager Brad Treliving must determine whether the Leafs will be buyers or sellers, which will signify the team’s heading into next season.
Still, Berube believes that his group will turn things around and regain the momentum they had before the Olympic break.
“It is always hard. It’s my job to instill that confidence in our guys,” Berube told reporters postgame. “For myself, I stay confident, I am confident. I know what these guys are capable of doing [and] I have to get it out of them.”
Toronto’s schedule does not get any easier. They return home to host the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night and the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
From there, the Leafs head back on the road for back-to-back games against the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers on Wednesday and Thursday. They then return home for a rematch with the Lightning on Saturday.
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