Berube calls out Maple Leafs’ ‘leaders’ after no-show versus Oilers

TORONTO — They say your greatest gamers gotta be your greatest gamers.

But first, they should present up.

On an evening when the Edmonton Oilers’ greatest gamers flooded the scoresheet, added to their spotlight reels and stopped celebrating targets as a result of the result was so out of attain, we’re gonna need to test the walk-in footage to see if the Toronto Maple Leafs’ stars even entered the constructing.

Captain Auston Matthews mustered two pictures and received simply 42.9 per cent of his faceoffs. He was requested however didn’t converse to reporters post-game.

John Tavares had a pair pictures to go together with his minus-3 score and misplaced most of his attracts, too.

Morgan Rielly acquired posterized by you-know-who and was additionally dash-3. 

Same with William Nylander, who acquired benched in direction of the tip of Saturday’s 6-3 rout, coach Craig Berube mentioned, as a result of he “wasn’t even close to 75 per cent,” so why hassle hold throwing him on the market.

None of these Toronto stars had a degree.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid placed on a clinic, every working their very own line, every piling three factors on plus-3 efforts.

“I talked to the team after the game. Our leaders got to take control of it a lot more than they are right now,” Berube mentioned. “It’s all mindset.”

Per week in the past, the Maple Leafs appeared to have turned a nook.

Now, with consecutive blown-lead losses and roll-over third durations at house, they’re performing like crawling out of the basement is nice sufficient.

This assembly between two notoriously slow-starting perennial playoff groups started enjoyable, quick and frantic. And with time dwindling within the second interval, the rating was 2-2.

Nick Robertson threw a blind go that led to a lethal Oilers counterstrike, and McDavid orchestrated a tic-tac-toe aim for Darnell Nurse with 31 ticks earlier than intermission.

“It’s not smart hockey,” Berube mentioned.

The Maple Leafs got here out for the third with all of the depth of a passport renewal workplace.

By the time a strong however “tired” Dennis Hildeby (Berube’s phrase) acquired the mercy pull, he’d given up six targets on 32shots and 5 unanswered. 

Artur Akhtyamov, Toronto’s fifth goaltender this season, made his NHL debut in mop-up obligation as patrons filed out early. Some caught round to boo or mock-chant “Let’s! Go! Blue! Jays!”

They’d simply watched the house group get outmanned and outworked on the net-fronts, weaved by way of like visitors cones by the quicker facet, and provides the puck away 24 instances.

“Not taking care of the puck, turning the puck over, and obviously not playing hard enough in front of our net. That’s what’s happened the last two games,” mentioned Oliver Ekman-Larsson, one other minus-3.

“We need to want to have the puck too and help each other out. So, I think that’s something we gotta look at.”

A pair Leafs talked about poor execution, however effort seemed nonexistent in what Rielly referred to as an “unacceptable” remaining 20.

“Well, I think they go hand in hand, and I think it’s across the board,” Rielly mentioned. “You go to the third, you just have to play better than that, if you’re gonna win in this league.”

Scott Laughton, whose fourth line was Toronto’s greatest on this night time, says these flat third durations are obscure.

“We have to be better managing games in certain situations. You see those guys, you know how good they are in moments. And then it can turn on you that quick,” Laughton mentioned. “It’s a 60-minute game for a reason. You gotta wear the team down and go the other way, play north, make them come 200 feet. I don’t think we did enough of that.”

The Oilers’ greatest gamers had been fast.

The Maple Leafs’ had been fast to vanish.

“We played into their speed, too. You can limit them a little bit. And obviously they got two of the best players in the world, right? But you can make it harder on them getting up and down the ice. But, yeah, we need to be better in every area of the game — and it’s just not good enough,” mentioned Laughton, talking like a pacesetter.

“So, pick ourselves up and pick up some points here at home. We got to start pushing. Have some urgency and get going.”

• Tough second for Oiler-turned-Leaf Troy Stecher, who sniped an personal aim off a McDavid centring go within the second interval.

“Tonight’s probably my biggest test as an individual player, going up against 97,” Stecher mentioned pre-game. “Hopefully know some of his tendencies where I can have some success tonight, but I’m sure he’s going to get his look. Just fortunate for the opportunity.”

Outside of the expensive gaffe, Stecher held his personal on one other busy night time on the workplace (one help, plus-1, 22:22).

“A great teammate. That’s the biggest thing,” McDavid mentioned. “An unbelievable teammate. Does whatever is asked of him. It’s been great to see him come here and have such a big role. And he’s playing great.”

• Draisaitl put up three major assists in a span of two minutes and 26 seconds.

His subsequent level can be his 1,000th.

• McDavid doesn’t appear too involved in regards to the unfinished Olympic rink in Milan.

“You’d like the ice quality to be good. The size of it doesn’t matter,” says the Canadian famous person.

“I’m excited. I think everybody is. Seems to be in the back of everyone’s mind that is going or thinks they have a chance to go. You’ve seen guys get off to great starts, pushing for spots all across the league. It’s been fun to watch.”

Like fellow top-five scorers Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard.

“Great to see them take steps,” McDavid mentioned. “They’ve been really impressive.”

• The means Ekman-Larsson left Thursday’s recreation, unable to position weight on his left leg, we’re floored he performed Saturday. His harm seemed severe.

“Crazy how much it can change in a day or day and a half,” the defenceman mentioned. “So, I’m lucky.”

Ekman-Larsson’s good attendance stays intact — and he scored.

• Safe to say, the third-round decide Toronto despatched to Utah for Matias Maccelli received’t be upgraded to a second-rounder. 

That was the situation tagged on the commerce if Maccelli scored at the least 51 factors.

The man can’t even get within the lineup. 

Maccelli took warmups however was scratched for a seventh straight recreation. He hasn’t performed since Nov. 28 and hasn’t scored since Nov. 8. The Leafs have received solely one in every of their previous 9 video games when the shifty winger does costume.