The Toronto Maple Leafs ended their five-game home stand without a win after a 7-4 shellacking at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
That loss dropped the team to eight points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as the team continues to spiral and now heads out west for a four-game road trip before the Olympic break in February.
Head coach Craig Berube was open with his frustration when addressing reporters after the game against the Sabres, when he was asked what he learned about the team during the winless home stand.
“We gotta keep the puck out of our net, is what I learned, and we didn’t do that here at home,” Berube said. “Until we decide to do things right and keep the puck out of our net – and that’s the goalies included – this is what you’re going to get. We scored enough goals on this home stand to win games, but we didn’t keep the puck out of our net.”
The Maple Leafs allowed a total of 25 goals over their five-game home stand – including six each against the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, and seven against Buffalo.
Berube noted there are many things the team can be doing better to try to reduce the goals allowed.
“[It’s] a couple things – managing the game, puck play, don’t give odd-man rushes up, defend, harder than we are, more desperation defending and goalies stop the puck,” Berube said. “That’s it. We can score goals, we’ve scored goals, but until we want to keep the puck out of our net, this is what we’re going to get.
“There’s no more than that, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, that’s all it is. I don’t need to learn anything more about our team, I know about our team, and they’re capable of doing it.”
The Maple Leafs have given up the most goals (183) of any team in the Eastern Conference, and are tied for third-worst in the NHL in that category.
Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz, the two top goaltenders on the depth chart entering the season, have each missed significant time with injuries. Woll allowed six goals on 30 shots in Tuesday’s loss, while Stolarz surrendered five in the 6-3 loss to the Golden Knights on January 23.
Berube was asked whether he wished Denis Hildeby was available during the home stand – Hildeby has made 13 starts this season while filling in for Woll and Stolarz at different times.
“These are our guys,” said Berube. “Stolarz is back, ready to go, so this is decisions that you gotta make. They’re our goalies.”
The Maple Leafs held a closed-door meeting on Monday to address the current tailspin, where Berube and team leaders discussed the focus around the team and the importance of the upcoming road trip. The early returns were not encouraging for Berube.
“I think our identity is we look at scoring as everything, and it’s not everything,” Berube said. “You’re not going to consistently win in this league by focusing on just scoring goals. You gotta play the full rink, and right now, we’re not doing a good enough job without the puck.”
As far as potential fixes for the current losing streak, Berube kept the focus broad.
“You gotta go and work and compete, your confidence will be fine. I get it, but we’re in the NHL, and you’re getting paid to play hockey, so you gotta go and do your job. That’s your job. Do your job.
“We’re not getting any breaks right now, so we gotta earn them. All we can do is push forward and focus on the next game.”
