Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Calls Out Young Forward For His Effort In Latest Loss

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Tom Banks
October 20, 2024 (12:49)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were beaten by the New York Rangers on Saturday, and it was clear after the game that Craig Berube wasn't happy with Pontus Holmberg.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were 3-1-0 coming into their high profile matchup with the New York Rangers on Saturday night, and given how good both teams have been early in the year, it was a mouth-watering matchup for the NHL. Head Coach Craig Berube pulled the team up in practice several times in preparation for this battle, but ultimately, they would fall short 4-1 due to a dominant Igor Shesterkin.

After the game, Berube made sure to call out the entire team for their lack of production despite getting 34 shots on net, as he lamented the missed opportunities throughout the night.

"Couldn't find the back of the net," said Berube following the loss. "We had opportunities. I think we can do a better job of taking his eyes away a little bit more. We had a lot of looks. We got to execute better in the third on the power play and 6-on-5."

Following that, the veteran coach went on to single out a specific forward in Pontus Holmberg, who saw a season low minutes total during the game, and for good reason according to Berube.

"He's got to battle a little bit harder for pucks and hang onto the pucks a little bit more like he was in training camp," said Berube. "He looks just a little step behind right now maybe"

Ultimately, when someone like Igor Shesterkin is on their game, it's hard for even the best groups in the NHL to beat him on a consistent basis, but the Maple Leafs tactics were simply not good enough on Saturday night, and it's something they'll need to figure out early in the season as they look to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.