Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube highlighted his team’s resilience and character as the keys to their comeback win over Winnipeg Jets.
After one of their most dominant wins of the season against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, the first part of Thursday’s contest was the polar opposite as they allowed the Jets to jump to a 4-1 lead before the second period was halfway over. It would have been easy for the Leafs to get discouraged at that point, but a strong effort in the latter half of the game led by a hat trick from captain Auston Matthews helped turn the tide in their favour.
“I didn’t feel we played poorly tonight,” he said to reporters after the game. “I mean, we made some mistakes and they went in the net. That happens in games throughout the season. But I liked the guys’ attitude and they stayed with it. I thought everybody kept playing and doing good things. Eventually, we ended up putting some goals in the net.”
Part of what helped change the momentum was when the Leafs swapped out Joseph Woll for Dennis Hildeby after the 4-1 goal. Berube knew that the towering netminder was accustomed to having to enter games cold and credited Hildeby for doing a great job keeping the team in the game with some key stops, including a vital one in the dying seconds that helped secure the victory.
“ I’m not pulling him because it’s all on him or whatever. I’m making a change, just trying to change the momentum more than anything,” Berube said when explaining why he pulled Woll. “ Just wasn’t going our way, so I made the change and tried to change the momentum of the game. That’s why I pulled him. I don’t like pulling goalies, but I just thought it was the right move at the time.”
Matthews’ three goals will take up the bulk of the attention on the night, but Berube was quick to point out what he feels is working for the Leafs from an offensive perspective. He has noticed that the Leafs have been doing a much better job applying pressure on the forecheck that forces the opposition into making a mistake, and also feels they are more connected in the offensive zone either off the rush or driving to the crease.
One player who has helped in that department is Matias Maccelli, who had two points on the night and now has six points (two goals and four assists) in seven games since returning to the lineup on December 20.
“He just makes plays. He’s done a good job on the power-play,” Berube said. “He’s very good at the breakouts, entering the zone, making plays, and getting it set up. He sees the ice well on the power-play. He just has composure with the puck in tight areas, and he finds people. So he is making a lot of good plays with the puck.”
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