The Maple Leafs held a practice at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday.
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The Leafs have won four of five games, but Craig Berube readily admits he’s feeling frustrated with the team’s uneven performance.
“Yeah, I guess frustration is a good word,” the coach said following practice on Tuesday.
“We still aren’t where we need to be. We all know that. But we’re working on it and just continue to work on it.”
Toronto rallied from three goals down in the third period to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Monday night. After the game, though, Berube was at a loss to explain how his group played in the second period. Despite trailing 2-0, the Leafs did not mount a push and watched as the Penguins outshot them 17-3 in the middle stanza while adding to their lead.
William Nylander described the performance as “unacceptable.”
The Leafs are 7-5-1 so far this season. Toronto’s .577 points percentage ranked 15th in the league entering Tuesday’s games.
“We’ve been inconsistent, which is not what we want,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “We want to clean that up. 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 feels the issue is all mental. How do you solve that?
“Well, you just keep battling, keep working at it, show video, talk to players, talk to the team, work on it in practice,” the coach said. “It’s mental when you can do it half the time, and then the other half you don’t do it. It’s just a mindset, you know. We need to do it for 60 minutes.”
The next chance arrives on Wednesday night when the Leafs host the Utah Mammoth. Toronto will be looking to win three straight games for the first time this season.
Leafs aim to regroup with lessons learned following disappointing win The frustration was hard to hide following the Maple Leafs’ comeback win over the Penguins Monday night. The players spoke about what they will take away from the effort and were candid with the issues they had in the first two periods against Pittsburgh.
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One positive Berube highlighted is who led Monday’s comeback.
“There was no quit, which is great to see,” Berube said. “And it was great to see the big guys take it and go get it done.”
The coach moved Nylander to the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies in the third period and watched that trio take over the game. Matthews scored Toronto’s opening goal on a breakaway while Nylander quickly added two of his own.
Nylander, who leads the team with 18 points, was returning from a two-game injury absence.
“He’s a gamer,” said winger Bobby McMann. “He knows how to play in those big moments.”
“He didn’t look like he’s had really any time off,” Matthews said. “He’s moving his feet, he’s making plays.”
Matthews, who leads the Leafs with seven goals, had the crowd buzzing with a dominant penalty-kill shift late in the third period.
“He’s blocking shots,” said goalie Anthony Stolarz. “He’s snapping draws back, just getting his stick in lanes and disrupting plays … For him just to be out there and making plays and leading by example is just huge for us.”
Matthews addressed his teammates in the dressing room after the final buzzer.
“That third period, that’s who we are,” the second-year captain said. “We’re a f—king tenacious team, who work. All five guys [on the ice]. All four lines. Everybody. So, great win. Let’s keep it going here at home.”
A few moments later, rookie Easton Cowan handed Matthews the team’s player-of-the-game belt.
“I thought him and Willy went out in the third and just took control of the game,” Berube said. “That’s great leadership [from] those two guys, which is good to see. But we need more of it.”
The Talking Point: Who are the real Toronto Maple Leafs? After starting the season with a 3-4-1 record, the Maple Leafs have gone 4-1-0 to sit three points out of first in the Atlantic Division. So who are the real Leafs, the team from the beginning of the year, or the version we now see before us? TSN Hockey’s Frankie Corrado shares his thoughts.
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Matthews, Nylander and Knies remained together on the top line at practice.
John Tavares skated between McMann and Nick Robertson. That line generated the game-winning goal, which came off the stick of McMann, who snapped an eight-game point drought.
Robertson made the goal happen by beating his man out of the corner and getting a shot off from the slot area. The 5-foot-9 winger is making the most of his recent run in Toronto’s top-six group.
“He works,” said Matthews. “He just works … He’s a smaller guy, but he’s not afraid to go to the dirty areas and battle and compete.”
Robertson produced just one assist in his first seven games and was made a healthy scratch on Oct. 24 in Buffalo. Since then he has three goals and three assists in five games.
What is Nylander noticing?
“His compete level, his skating, you know, just playing real good hockey.”
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Matias Maccelli was a healthy scratch on Monday for the first time with the Leafs.
“It’s not ideal,” the 5-foot-11 winger said. “You want to be out there with the guys and try to help the team win.”
Maccelli is struggling to find a fit with his new team despite generating some offence of late. He has a point in three of his last four games.
“He’s done some good things, obviously, but I think there’s just little things in his game that he can be better at that I discussed with him yesterday, and I’ll just keep that between us,” Berube said. “But there’s just some things that we want more out of him, and he’s capable of giving more.”
Maccelli was willing to reveal what Berube is looking for.
“Just making more harder plays and being a little stingier on the forecheck and stuff like that, and getting to the dirty areas, and getting to the net,” he said.
The Leafs acquired Maccelli from the Mammoth in exchange for a 2027 conditional third round draft pick in the summer. Maccelli, who generated 40 assists during the 2023-24 season, was tabbed to help fill the playmaking void left behind by the departure of Mitch Marner. He started the season on the top line beside Matthews and also got an extended look beside Tavares on the second line.
“I’m feeling better and better every game,” the 25-year-old stressed. “Just getting more comfortable getting to know the guys pretty well by now, so it’s getting better and better. I think I’m really close to finding it.”
Maccelli was a frequent healthy scratch down the stretch last season in Utah so Wednesday’s reunion with his old team will feature a little extra emotion.
“There’s always motivation for every game but, I mean, I feel like since it’s [the] first game playing against them there’s maybe a little extra for this one,” he said.
Maccelli looks to respond against old team after being healthy scratch Matias Maccelli was a healthy scratch Monday against the Penguins but was back skating on the third line during Tuesday’s practice. The forward says sitting is not ideal but believes he is feeling better every game. Maccelli notes there are things he needs to do better to show the coaching staff he can be relied upon on a consistent basis.
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Maccelli isn’t the only fresh body coming into the lineup. Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz are both poised to return from injury.
Laughton has not played since blocking a shot off his foot in the penultimate pre-season game.
“He’s going to be a nice boost for us and brings a tremendous amount of energy and personality to our room,” said Tavares.
Tavares appreciates how Laughton always “lays it all on the line.”
Laughton skated on the fourth line with Lorentz, who has not played since suffering an upper-body injury last week in Columbus.
“They play with energy, and they play a straightforward, simple game,” Berube said. “They do a lot of the dirty work for us out there, but the energy is good with those guys. They bring a lot of energy to our team, which is good and important … When it’s not going right, these guys can go change the momentum of a game.”
Max Domi was the other member of the fourth line at practice.
Calle Jarnkrok, Sammy Blais and Cowan project to be healthy scratches on Wednesday. All three guys scored during last week’s road trip.
Berube acknowledged it’s “tricky” trying to keep so many NHL-calibre forwards in the mix.
“Nobody wants to sit out,” the coach said. “They all want to play all the time, but reality is that’s not going to happen. But, in saying that, everybody’s still important. They’re all still important. And they got to understand that, that there’s going to be games where certain guys maybe don’t play and there’s different reasons, but we still need everybody. That’s the message.”
Leafs Ice Chips: Laughton poised for season debut; Carlo needs maintenance Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton skated on a regular line for the first time since the regular season began and all signs point to him making his season debut Wednesday against the Mammoth. TSN’s Mark Masters has more.
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Cowan got a look on the top power-play unit on Monday, but it did not go well as the Leafs failed to generate any pressure on their one chance against the Penguins.
Matthew Knies rejoined the first unit at practice, but the tinkering continued as Oliver Ekman-Larsson replaced Rielly as the quarterback.
Rielly has yet to generate a point on the power play this season while Ekman-Larsson has two assists.
“O’s got a great read for the game,” said Tavares. “Handles the puck so, so well, very deceptive. And, you know, that sifter of his is as good as anyone’s in the league. His ability to deliver pucks through lanes and the timing of it all is really, really good. We’ll try to maximize that.”
“It’s just a different look,” Berube said. “He’s ran power plays in the past [with] different teams. We’re just trying to get something that works here … We did it last year, too, for a bit, trying to get it to work, and eventually we did. We’re going to keep banging away at it to get it to work.”
The Leafs power play struggled to start last year before Marner took over as the quarterback of a five-forward unit.
Toronto is clicking at just 12.1 per cent this season, which is 31st overall entering Tuesday’s slate of games.
“At times I thought we’ve executed well and the puck just hasn’t gone in, which is really all that matters,” said Rielly.
“I actually think we’ve been doing some good things,” Tavares insisted. “Our puck speed’s been a little better. We’ve been generating more shots, more opportunities, and, you know, when you’re not finishing those chances you can confuse yourself a little bit. There’s no doubt we can still be a lot better.”
With Leafs in need of a spark, Ekman-Larsson takes over as PP1 QB Oliver Ekman-Larsson was quarterbacking the first power play unit during Tuesday’s practice in an effort to give the team a different look that will hopefully spark something. The players know they have not had the production they’ve wanted but John Tavares believes they have been developing some good habits.
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Tavares scored his 500th career goal during a lopsided road loss in Columbus last week, which muted the moment.
Before Wednesday’s game, the 35-year-old centre will be honoured for the accomplishment in a pre-game ceremony in front of friends, family and his hometown fans.
“It’ll be special,” the Oakville, Ont. native said. “Even though it came in the fashion that it did, you know, you appreciate each and every goal that went in and how difficult it can be.”
Tavares is the 49th player in NHL history to enter the 500-goal club and only the second to do it with the Leafs, joining Mats Sundin.
“Grateful for my teammates, all the support through my years here in Toronto, and obviously in New York as well,” Tavares said. “It’ll be nice to take a few moments and to share it with everyone. And, yeah, definitely don’t take it for granted and just want to keep it going.”
‘You never take it for granted’: Tavares anticipates special 500-goal ceremony John Tavares scored his 500th career goal against the Blue Jackets last week and while he would have liked for it to come in a victory, the veteran forward is not taking his accomplishment for granted. Tavares will be looking forward to being honoured at home in front of family and friends.
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Rielly marked a milestone on Monday. He picked up his 521st point as a Leaf and in the process passed Tomas Kaberle for second spot on the franchise defenceman scoring list (14th overall).
“It’s just something that happens over time if you stick around long enough,” Rielly said.
Matthews brought up Rielly’s climb up the franchise points list during his post-game pep talk in the dressing room and the longest-serving Leaf quickly declined to say a few words even as teammates called for a speech.
“Extremely selfless and so team-oriented,” Tavares said. “He’s a tremendous person and obviously a great hockey player.”
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After making a couple big shot blocks in the final moments of Monday’s game, defenceman Brandon Carlo missed practice for maintenance. Berube expects Carlo to play on Wednesday.
Stolarz also got Tuesday’s practice off for maintenance after facing a season high 37 shots. He is expected to make his 11th start of the season on Wednesday.
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Philippe Myers accidentally hit Sidney Crosby with a high cross-check midway through the third period on Monday. The 6-foot-5 defenceman quickly put his hand behind Crosby to make sure the Penguins captain didn’t fall to the ice.
“I didn’t realize it was him when he was coming to the net, and then when I saw it was him, when I got him in the chin, I was like, ‘Oh f—k,’” Myers told TSN. “I didn’t really mean to get him on the chin, but obviously you just got to get the guys out from in front of the net for Stollie there.”
Like so many Canadian hockey players, Myers idolized Crosby as a kid. What’s it like playing him?
“It’s unbelievable,” the 28-year-old from New Brunswick said. “He was one of my favourite players growing up, for sure. He’s a special player. Obviously, at his age, he’s still dominating the League and, you know, one of the best of all time, for sure. It’s an honour to be on the ice with him.”
But that did not stop Myers from doing his job.
“That being said, you just gotta play that guy hard and be physical on him,” Myers said with a smile.
Philippe Myers on catching Sidney Crosby up high last night:
“I was just stopping him from getting to our goalie & I caught him in the face. I saw it was Sid I was like, ‘F–k’ … I kind of idolized him growing up & it’s an honour to be on the ice with him”@BarDown pic.twitter.com/qgKhmNomYF
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 4, 2025
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Lines at Tuesday’s practice:
Knies – Matthews – Nylander
Robertson – Tavares – McMann
Joshua – Roy – Maccelli
Domi – Laughton – Lorentz
Cowan, Blais, Jarnkrok
Mermis – Rielly
Benoit – McCabe
Ekman-Larsson – Myers
Primeau
Woll
Power play units at Tuesday’s practice:
QB: Ekman-Larsson
Flanks: Matthews, Nylander
Middle: Tavares
Net front: Knies
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Maccelli, Domi
Middle: Robertson
Net front: Roy