Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube addressed the media after his team’s 4-3 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets, which improved the Maple Leafs’ record to 24-16-8.
On the team’s resilience in fighting back from 3-1 down in the third:
Yeah, we stuck with it. Good character win. Obviously, it is a great way to finish off the road trip. It was a tough trip, but I liked the trip overall.
On the battles at the net fronts in the game:
It was a point of focus before the game. We know that it is a big, heavy team. They do a really good job of tipping pucks and getting into battles around the net. I thought our guys competed extremely hard tonight.
On Auston Matthews’ performance:
He was good all game. He was skating and attacking all game. He had his legs. That line was really good for us tonight, but it was a good team effort. I thought everybody contributed and did a good job tonight.
On whether Jake McCabe played Kyle Connor’s 2-0 goal the right way by taking away the pass:
If I look at it again, we turned one over there, and we have to make a stronger play. Those are two elite players coming at you there. I think he did the right thing taking the backdoor, and the goalie handles the shot on that play, for the most part. It’s a tough play.
On Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s strong season to date:
I think he has been good all year. He had a really good game tonight from a points standpoint, but all year, he has been solid — defensively, offensively, and in all of the things we ask him to do. He is playing with different partners most of the year, and he is playing the left side or the right side.
He has been a solid player — a real good pro. He is playing like a real good pro right now. He gives us a lot every night, in my opinion.
On Dennis Hildeby’s 27-save performance:
He got us the win. It is a tough building to come into. He made some key saves at the right time.
On the three-for-three penalty killing effort:
Excellent, especially the kill at the end. That was huge. I wasn’t a fan of two of the calls tonight, but our PK, like it has been all year, was a really strong part of our game. They did a great job and provided some opportunities the other way, too.
On collecting five out of eight points from a tough road trip:
That is a tough trip we’re on. We were seven seconds away from getting six.
Extremely good trip for the group.
Game Highlights w/Joe Bowen: Maple Leafs 4 vs. Jets 3 (OT)