The Leafs dropped at least one point after a season-opening loss in Montreal, going 0 of 4
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The Maple Leafs' top snipers have heard enough of Craig Berube's three-word mantra “be more direct” that they have started using it in their own media discussions.
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However, after training camp and Wednesday's first game of the season, the message didn't quite get through to the players, especially when it came to the power play. Toronto's not-so-secret weapon, one of the main reasons it has emphasized call-call speed over the years, is that its quintet of high-quality offensive players can convert.
On the razor-thin margin of most NHL games, special teams are often the difference. Paul Maurice's Florida Panthers, for example, scored the winning goal 19 times in their 49 regular season wins on the power play last year, the most in the league before winning the Stanley Cup.
The Leafs dropped at least one point after a season-opening loss in Montreal, going 0 of 4.
At least Berube now has something in common with his predecessor, Sheldon Keefe, as they sat on opposite benches Thursday in New Jersey. Keefe's Leaf group, under late assistant Guy Boucher, did not perform well last regular season, finishing seventh overall with a 24% success rate, scoring just three game-winning goals, the worst record of all 16 teams in the playoffs , before going a disastrous 1-for-21 in dives in the series against Boston.
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This year's fall preseason games didn't really have a scientific sample size, with Auston Matthews' Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly only appearing in the same game a handful of times. New assistant Marc Savard introduced some new techniques, but that was in front of a huge training camp group before he could attend Tuesday's final training session, after which he flew to Montreal for a refresher course with both units. More is required.
“Not direct enough, too external for me,” Berube told the Montreal media about the move to O-fer. We didn't attack right away, we didn't take shots, we didn't look for rebounds. “I don't want to call it too cute, but we need to be more direct.”
This does not mean, however, that the flying circus was not appreciated in these parts. Considering Matthews is aiming to set a franchise record for power play goals, this is one of the crowd-pleasing elements of the Core Four. However, even the captain criticized how disorganized the Leafs looked on Wednesday, although Samuel Montembeault did them no favors in the Canadiens cage, making 48 saves and his defense blocked another 25.
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“Keep it simple, more shot presence,” Matthews said of what is needed. “We are working on opening up to each other, we are working on finding places. More pucks in the net.”
Berube rightly noted during the camp that the top unit has been together for a long time and will find its rhythm, but he does not allow the other unit to shirk its responsibilities.
“There are guys who can do their job and score points. We have experience with Max Pacioretty, Max Domi, (Oliver) Ekman-Larsson, the great (Matthew) Knies at the net, good scorers with Nick Robertson. Domi passes, but I know he has a really good shot.
“They have to put pucks in the net depending on how much time they have (often 30 seconds or less in the minors).”
With the Jersey game approaching so quickly and a break likely to be needed before Saturday's Pittsburgh Penguins game in Toronto, it may be some time before Berube and Savard have time for another special teams practice.
lhornby@postmedia.com
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