HC Craig Berube sends stern message to Toronto Maple Leafs players after conceding late 2nd period goal in 4-2 loss to Red Wings

By ARJUN B

Modified Dec 15, 2024 11:30 GMT

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube shared his blunt thoughts after his team's 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. The defeat dropped the Maple Leafs' record to 18-10-2 on the season.

Detroit got on the board first when defenseman Jeff Petry scored in the first period. Toronto's Auston Matthews responded in the second period with a power play goal to tie the game 1-1.

However, with just 1:28 left in the second period, Detroit retook the lead when Moritz Seider knocked in a pass from Andrew Copp after Matthews had turned over the puck in the neutral zone.

Matthew Knies then tied the game 2-2 from Marner's shot. But Detroit went back in front just 50 seconds later as Petry buried a rebound for his second tally of the contest. Lucas Raymond sealed the Red Wings victory with an empty netter.

Berube did not mince words when addressing his team's late period lapse, stating bluntly:

"That is a situational play for me, with a 1:28 left in the period. We can’t give up a goal there. It’s that simple. Can’t do it, sorry. We have to be better." (post-game)

On defensive mistakes, Craig Berube said:

"We go over it. We go over it between periods, too. That is a good rush team, and they scored two goals off the rush tonight. We have to be better."

Ville Husso stopped 23 shots for Detroit, while Joseph Woll saved 22 shots in the loss.

Craig Berube highlights mistakes in Leafs' 4-2 loss against the Red Wings

Craig Berube pointed out that the Maple Leafs made two key errors that the Red Wings capitalized on to score goals when the game was still up for grabs.

"We made two mistakes on two goals that we didn’t need to make. We have to be better on a couple of those plays. I thought we competed hard and had a lot of good things going on in the game. We have to finish better.” Craig Berube said.

While acknowledging that the Maple Leafs competed hard overall and had positives to build on, Berube emphasized the need to finish scoring chances better after only mustering 24 shots on goal.

He stressed the importance of getting more pucks to the net, whether by avoiding missing the target or having shots blocked. Defensively, Berube felt the team's performance could have been stronger as well in limiting quality chances for Detroit.

The Maple Leafs will face off against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday at home.