Maple Leafs too sloppy in Craig Berube’s pre-season coaching debut

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Published Sep 22, 2024  •  3 minute read

Ottawa Senators' Carter Yakemchuk reacts to a high stick from Toronto Maple Leafs' Timothy Liljegren during first period NHL pre-season game action in Toronto, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. Photo by Paige Taylor White /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Expect the unexpected in a pre-season NHL game. 

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But there were too many surprises for head coach Craig Berube in Sunday’s debut behind the Maple Leafs bench, delight at newcomers getting on the scoreboard, shock at the careless play of his team.    

With a veteran-heavy lineup at Scotiabank Arena while the Ottawa Senators saved some big names for the rematch at home on Tuesday, the Leafs needed an extra-man goal  from William Nylander to force overtime, then lost 6-5 on a Carter Yakemchuk solo rush after Toronto’s top guns held the puck for two and a half minutes.    

An earlier three-goal third-period rally that featured two by 35-year-old Max Pacioretty, unravelled when Ottawa persisted in a push that exposed some defensive shortcomings. Donovan Sebrango and Cole Reinhardt, with his second of the game, provided the go-ahead margin.   

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New defenceman and Toronto native Chris Tanev triggered the Leafs first goal to make it 1-1, putting Mitch Marner in motion to set up Matthew Knies. Tanev, with 17 assists all last season in Calgary and Dallas, had three helpers on the night. 

 But after the Knies goal, the Leafs lost the puck at Ottawa’s line and never did correct the numerical disadvantage before  Reinhardt finally jammed it past Joseph Woll. 

Toronto’s starter was under siege for 22 shots, giving up a third goal to one-time Leaf Adam Gaudette, left open in the slot, before Matt Murray arrived halfway through the second period as scheduled. The Leafs gave up more than 30 shots on the evening before 14,531, a less than sold out house.   

Berube wants to establish controlled aggression by his team and instead got a first-minute high-sticking penalty to Knies. Woll stopped three shots on the kill, but Toronto was a little lax fielding a dump-in and Nikita Grebenkin couldn’t close on Jan Jenik in the slot. 

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Woll also got across to make a couple of stops on a 4-on-3 when Timothy Liljegren was called for high-sticking after Morgan Rielly and Reinhardt went off for roughing. He also got a glove on Drake Batherson’s crease tip as Rielly served the third stick foul of the frame. 

Assistant coach Lane Lambert, the new penalty-killing architect of a unit that finished in the bottom third of the league, had both old and new faces in the mix. He leaned on Tanev, Calle Jarnkrok, the two-way duo of Auston Matthews and Marner, rogue Ryan Reaves and farmhand Jacob Quillan.  

Not surprising that Reaves was in the pre-season’s first fight, taking exception to a shove from behind by Sebrango. The second bout was more of a shock, Russian rookie  Grebenkin getting a couple of shots on Gaudette, then raising his arms to pump the crowd.  

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Everyone wanted to see what the other new assistant, Marc Savard, had in store this night for the power play, which had to contemplate a long summer with a 1-for-21 slide against Boston in the playoffs. The wait for their first Ottawa minor was long enough, but the visitors were up to the challenge of keeping the returning No. 1 group of Matthews, Marner, John Tavares, Nylander and Rielly to the outside with their puck movement. 

Berube cautioned people after Sunday morning’s skate not to read too deeply into any power play experimentation this month. But the first unit redeemed itself on a Matthews’ goal as part of the comeback, Marner hustling to keep the puck in, Tavares with a nice blind backhand pass.   

Pacioretty, Max Domi and Easton Cowan appeared on the second unit in limited time with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. In his 5-on-5 debut with the Leafs after recovery from Achilles tendon problems, Pacioretty had the Leafs’ first shot on goal before the Sens blanketed the Blue and White and went up 11-1 in that department.          

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After playing Pontus Holmberg between Pacioretty and Grebenkin so far in camp, Berube moved Tavares into Holmberg’s spot as part of going with as many of his best as possible. A shorter six-game pre-season slate gives less wiggle room to prepare for opening night in Montreal on Oct. 9. 

 ICE CHIPS 

There was a pre-game video salute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, with a 13-second moment of silence … It was Matthews’ first game wearing the ‘C’ and he had a couple of chats with the referees on close calls against the Leafs … Adding to Tanev’s size on the blueline was 6-foot-7 Cade Webber in his NHL debut after signing last year out of the NCAA.  

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