Berube Shuffles Leafs Lineup Again Amid Frustration Over Inconsistent Start
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won four of their last five games, yet coach Craig Berube openly admits his frustration with the team's inconsistent play.
“Yeah, I guess frustration is a good word,” Berube said after Tuesday’s practice at the Ford Performance Centre. “We still aren’t where we need to be. But we’re working on it and just continue to work on it.”
Toronto rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Monday night. However, Berube struggled to explain the Leafs' lackluster performance in the second period when, despite trailing 2-0, they failed to mount any offensive pressure and allowed the Penguins to outshoot them 17-3 while extending their lead.
Forward William Nylander called the effort “unacceptable.”
The Leafs currently hold a 7-5-1 record, placing them 15th in the league with a .577 points percentage entering Tuesday’s games.
Defenceman Morgan Rielly stated, “We’ve been inconsistent, which is not what we want. We want to be more consistent. We want to have an identity that we play to every night, and we’re looking to build that. I think there’s been times where we’ve been able to find it. I thought we were pretty good [on Saturday] in Philly. I thought we were good in third last night. But it’s about being more consistent and executing more often.”
Berube believes the root of the problem is mental rather than physical.
Summary: Berube’s continued lineup changes reflect frustration with Toronto’s struggle to maintain consistent, mentally focused performances despite recent wins.