Berube confident in veteran core, says ‘there was a lot of good’ in OT loss to Senators on Saturday
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TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to avoid adversity in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time when they receive their second chance to eliminate the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN).
With hopes of finishing the job, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is looking to his top players including forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies to put forth an effort that would help ensure a return trip to Ottawa for Game 6 on Thursday is unnecessary.
“They’ve done a great job of that throughout the season for sure,” Berube said Sunday on the morning after a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. “There’s ups and downs throughout the season and our guys have responded well. I think the leadership has really grown here and that’s the key — the leadership and our leaders leading the way.
“I expect the same in Game 5. We played a real good hockey game, didn’t come out on top, but I think our guys will be ready to go and be highly competitive for Game 5. The leadership has been very good and that’s the key, so I don’t expect anything different.”
The Maple Leafs fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to force overtime in Game 4, but a point shot from Jake Sanderson found its way through traffic and eluded the glove of Anthony Stolarz to extend the Senators’ season.
Matthews was held off the score sheet, but he hit the goal post during a four-minute power play in overtime after Ottawa forward Drake Batherson was penalized for high-sticking. Nylander had two assists, including setting up Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s goal at 14:31 of the third period that forced overtime. Marner had an assist on Knies’ goal in the second period that tied it 2-2. Tavares scored in the last minute of the first to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Tavares and Knies each have three goals in the series.
Maple Leafs at Senators | Recap | Round 1, Game 4
Senators coach Travis Green was asked if he felt the win planted a seed of doubt in the minds of the Maple Leafs, who are 1-12 in playoff games with an opportunity to eliminate an opponent since 2017.
“You’d have to ask them that,” Green said. “I’m worried about us winning the next game.”
Berube gave no indication Sunday that it had. Certainly, the Maple Leafs have no need to panic yet, but the Senators have every reason to feel better about themselves after a third consecutive game was decided in overtime, this time in their favor.
“I mean, we are the underdog,” Green said. “Everyone knows that. So, it hasn’t been a big part of what we’ve talked to our team about. Everyone’s telling them they are. But we also have belief within our room that we can beat anyone in the League. And at the end of the day, you’ve got to go out and play the games.
“I liked (our effort in Game 4) a lot. I liked that we won.”
Heading into Game 5, Berube seemed confident despite the Maple Leafs missing the chance to sweep.
“There was a lot of good in (Game 4),” he said. “I thought it was a real good hockey game to be honest with you and I thought we played extremely well, but there’s always things you can improve upon. There’s some opportunities we could have finished on the power play. We had that four-minute power play and we could have generated more, been a little bit more direct on our PP in that situation.
“I thought we played well. Didn’t come out on top but we will move on, get ready for practice and Game 5.”
NHL.com independent correspondent Callum Fraser contributed to this report
🔹Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
🔹Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
🔹Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
🔹New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
🔹St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets
🔹Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
🔹Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights
🔹Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings
