Maple Leafs' Success Deciphered: Craig Berube's Strategic Role in Mastering the Stanley Cup Playoff Puzzle
Toron TO, Eh?! 🇨🇦 Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist for the Star, spitting hot takes at the Leafs with a tongue as sharp as his wit. Tune into his thoughts on twitter: @dfeschuk
Heads up, Leafs Nation! The boys in blue have been screaming one thing during the heat of their playoff rollercoaster: Stay composed!
After Craig Berube, the Leafs' coach, gave Marc Savard a firm warning to curb his enthusiasm during Game 1, the boys know all too well that the playoffs are no time for errors, big or small. So, let's hopeBerube isn't over the moon about two silly penalties by Matthew Knies and William Nylander in Game 3, which gifted Ottawa a five-on-three power play and the opening goal by Claude Giroux.
Luckily for the Maple Leafs, the game isn't decided by a single perfect performance. A 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 kept them a perfect 3-0 in the series against the Senators.
Just minutes after giving away the first lead of the series, the Senators handed a gift back to the Leafs: high-sticking penalty by Ridly Greig, giving the Leafs a power play opportunity that saw Matthew Knies tie it 1-1 midway through the second period.
The zig-zagging game had enough opportunities for both teams to showcase their fancy footwork. Auston Matthews's first goal of the playoffs, off a nice between-the-legs tip pass from Mitch Marner, was a beauty that made it 2-1. Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk's bullet late in the third period beat Anthony Stolarz on the short side, bringing the score to 2-2. Finally, Simon Benoit's overtime winner, a point shot fired 1:19 into the extra frame, was an answered prayer off a clean Matthews draw.
Benoit, who also assisted on Max Domi's Game 2 overtime winner, celebrated not one but two huge points in two big games. The defensive defenseman registered just 10 points in 79 games this season, so his good fortune seems to be playing a factor in the consecutive extra-frame wins. But there's nothing wishful about what the Leafs have become in this series: a team that's playing a kind of hockey that seems strange compared to their previous playoff runs.
"We're going into battle every night," said Chris Tanev, the veteran defenseman. "Sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen. You have to respond and stay level-headed and stay composed."
Toronto's level-headedness, and the occasional burst of next-level talent, helps explain this series's lopsidedness. They're actively implementing a defensive-first mindset, focusing on a low-event, risk-averse strategy that's been crucial in this past-the-first-round run.
Critics may call it boring at times, but so far, it's been nothing but winning. The Shanaplan-era Leafs have never been in the situation they find themselves, up 3-0 in a playoff series and looking for their first post-season sweep on Saturday night. But this is the first Berube-coached team of that not-so-successful post-season era. And Berube appears to have the Leafs playing a kind of hockey that's different than anything we've seen them play before at this time of year. Call it low event. Call it highly risk averse. Call it grinding if you will, but it's been working like a charm.
One Ottawa agitator, Ridly Greig, pulled out a worn-out cliché in the lead-up to Game 3: "It's not a series until somebody loses at home." Well, by that logic, the series has just begun, and it's anything but familiar to the Maple Leafs. Toronto's NHL franchise hasn't led 3-0 in a best-of-seven series since 2001. That was also against Ottawa, and it ended in a Toronto sweep.
Thursday night's game was the first Ottawa playoff home date for most of eight years, but give it to the Senators fans: they showed up in sufficient numbers to make it seem like the intruders weren't quite as obvious as they sometimes can be. Mind you, the makeup of the crowd might be different for Game 4. As one disheartened Senators fan said on the way out Thursday: "Sell your tickets to Leaf fans."
Not that road games have been a problem for Toronto this season. The Leafs won a franchise-record 25 away games this season. On a night when it felt like the Senators came out swinging – the Leafs didn't manage their second shot on goal until the game was more than 12 minutes old – the Leafs didn't exactly dominate; far from it. But they didn't panic, either. They absorbed Ottawa's best body blows and threw some of their own, all the while sticking to Craig Berube's winning formula.
Toronto's ability to play smart hockey, carve out opportunities when they can, and weather the storm when they can't has set them apart from their previous playoff performances. Add in some next-level talent like Auston Matthews's beauty of a goal and it's no surprise they took Game 3 in OT. Now it's time to see if they can take out the Senator once and for all on Saturday night.
- Dave Feschuk, a sports columnist based in Toronto, shares sharp opinions about the local hockey team, the Leafs, on Twitter under the handle @dfeschuk.
- After a warning from coach Craig Berube, the Leafs know the playoffs are no time for errors, and they must stay composed, following two penalties in Game 3 that benefited Ottawa.
- Although the Leafs lost the first lead of the series, they were given another golden opportunity with a high-sticking penalty by Ridly Greig, which resulted in a power play and a goal by Matthew Knies, tying the game at 1-1.
- In game 3, Simon Benoit, a defensive defenseman who usually has limited points, scored a crucial overtime winner, adding to his good fortune and the team's consecutive extra-frame victories.
- The Maple Leafs are implementing a defensive-first mindset and a low-event, risk-averse strategy, which has contributed to their past-the-first-round run in the NHL playoffs.
- Despite criticism of their play as being boring at times, the Leafs have shown a different kind of hockey under coach Berube, displaying a level-headedness and patience that has paid off, especially in their series against Ottawa.
