Two days after reuniting with former head coach Sheldon Keefe, Coach Berube and the Toronto Maple Leafs welcome former general manager Kyle Dubas and his Pittsburgh Penguins to town for the Leafs’ season opener on Hockey Night in Canada. Both teams started the season 1-1-0 after being shut out in their season openers and winning the next night. The Leafs start the 24-25 campaign with Stanley Cup aspirations, while the Penguins are hoping for a trip back to the playoffs after missing the postseason for two straight years. The puck drops at 7:00 pm EST.
Berube Already Leaving His Mark in Toronto
After watching the Florida Panthers raise the Stanley Cup in June and watching them for the six months that led up to the playoffs, one realizes that the style of play didn’t really change much for the Panthers. It did for the rest of the league, but not for the Panthers.
When you watch the Leafs over the past playoff exits and each season leading up to said exit, one realizes that the style of play the Leafs have had in the regular season just doesn’t translate in the spring. Through two games, Berube has brought a physicality and a heaviness that just hasn’t been felt in October in Ontario’s capital. Through two games, the Leafs have outhit their opponents and made life difficult for them with and without the puck.
Coming from the Panthers, Steven Lorentz knows all about this style of play. “I think he just likes it a little more old-school and it’s a winning formula,” Lorentz said of Berube’s coaching style. “When you can come in and bang and skate and go to the net, every once in a while bang one in, it’s a lot of fun and it’s fun playing that way. It’s the kind of style that does well in the playoffs.”
Veterans Buying In Early
On Thursday night, one play from Auston Matthews stands out, even though he was held shot-less. Skating hard to the net, he pushed a Devils’ defenseman right into Markstrom, goalie for the Devils’, bowling him over in the process. Star players need to produce offensively, of course, but if they buy into what the coach is selling, it has a way of trickling down the lineup.
“You look back at the winning teams over the past few seasons and you have your skill guys who are gifted and they can make all the plays,” Lorentz said, hinting at the star players. “Those guys are going to do their thing, but he (Berube) wants big bodies and guys who can skate to create that energy and that’s the identity of the team.”
Heading into the weekend, John Tavares was asked about the adjustment from Keefe to Berube. “It has been pretty seamless. A lot of us have been around the league for a while now and even though Sheldon was here for a long time, Chief (Berube) did a good job in the off-season communicating with everyone, really starting to build the relationships and the type of atmosphere he wanted. The way training camp went and the things he has been preaching, guys have embraced it really well.”
Final Thoughts: News and Notes
The team and the fanbase have had a hot and cold relationship with D-man Timothy Liljegren for quite some time now. After having a lukewarm training camp, the 2017 first-rounder finds himself on the outside looking in, and it seems like this pot is coming to a boil. It’s public knowledge that the Leafs are shopping Liljegren, but his $3 million cap hit might make that difficult. Connor Timmins has played himself into the final d-spot, while Liljegren continues to find himself out of the lineup, and according to lines in practice, that seems to be the same for Saturday.
Leafs PR tweeted out this morning that John Tavares missed practice due to an illness. If he doesn’t play tonight, Reeves will slide back into the roster by default, and McMann will stay in. After taking Thursday night off, goaltender Anthony Stolarz will get the start in Toronto on Saturday night.
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