Maple Leafs – Canadian | Robustness and defensive play on the menu

On a Thursday in May 1987, a young Craig Berube stood near the visiting team’s bench at the Forum. Under his eyes as a 21-year-old rookie, the Canadian and the Flyers settled scores with fists during the warm-up period, in a scene worthy of Slap Shot.

That’s where Flyers head coach Mike Keenan goes to see Berube. “He said to me: you should get dressed, we might need you. So off I went running to put on my gear! But he made me walk. I was just a kid! »

Berube had not actually played. “There was a general fight and no one got kicked out! “, he says, still incredulous, 37 years later.

Times have changed. Berube is now 59 years old, he is head coach of the Maple Leafs, who face the Canadian on Saturday evening, not at the Forum, but at the Bell Centre.

Hockey has changed too, and players like Berube, 7^e in NHL history with 3,149 penalty minutes, no longer roam the streets. Except that one of the last of the Mohicans, Ryan Reaves, will still be in uniform, against CH, proof that certain hockey credo of yesteryear still hold.

“It’s a big game, a big rivalry and they have strong players,” Berube said after the Leafs’ morning practice. We will have to be, too. They [les joueurs du Canadien] play very well, they play fast and use their talent. They have a lot of them. We have to be ready and we will have to practice a heavy style. »

Reaves has been left out five times in the last seven games. In his last appearance in uniform, the 37-year-old spent only five minutes on the ice. Understand that his role could be marginal on Saturday evening.

To understand the Leafs, you have to focus on Berube and the other concepts he preaches. The old hand came behind the Leafs bench in the off-season with the mandate to lead this team beyond the first round of the playoffs, a stage it has reached only once in the last 20 years.

“We still want to score goals, but “defense first” is the mentality this year and we are working on it,” revealed Acadian defender Philippe Myers.

Progress is quantifiable in this regard. From 3.18 goals allowed per game last year, their average increased to 2.85 this season. When they lead after 40 minutes, they show a perfect record of 19-0-0. Strangely, they are in deficit in the third period (40 goals scored, 49 goals allowed).

Auston Matthews assures that the team’s approach, in the third period, “does not change. When you’re leading, you don’t want to take too many risks, you simplify your game and you play the way that allowed you to take the lead. When we lead, we manage the puck well, we block shots, we are tough on defense and we have very good goaltenders. »

Berube objects when asked if he really prioritizes defensive play.

“I don’t think we have a “defense first” mentality. We want to attack as much as possible, but as soon as we lose the puck, we have to pay attention to details, work to defend, fall back, not leave any space. It’s up to the attackers to come back and help the defenders. You have to play well defensively and be detailed to be successful in this league. »

In fact, what stands out most is a slight drop in attack. Their average of 3.04 goals scored per game is their lowest since the arrival of Auston Matthews in 2016. Last year, the Leafs scored 3.64 goals per game, an average which would however drop by half in series (1.71).

“It goes with everyone. If we cheat offensively, we will be told, Myers recalled. I think that’s just the mentality. When you have the chance offensively, you go for it. But it’s defense first. »

Overall, this recipe earns the Leafs 1^is rank of the Atlantic Division with 58 points, 3 more than the Panthers and 10 more than their opponents for this match which will be broadcast in the old time slot of Saturday of laughter.