Leafs' Nick Robertson makes his feelings known after snapping 12-game point-less slump

By ARJUN B

Modified Dec 01, 2024 06:47 GMT

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Nick Robertson snapped a 12-game point drought on Saturday, scoring a goal in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The goal came at 8:39 of the second period, with Robertson scoring on a wrist shot from a sharp angle to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy and give the Leafs a 3-0 lead.

"It was obviously relief," Nick Robertson said after the game. "It's been a while so I was happy to get on the board there and it felt pretty good." (interview starts from 2:20)

The 23-year-old recalled a scoring drought that lasted this long in junior hockey.

"When I was 16 in junior there - but a couple assists here and there keep you kinda sane," he said. "But now, this is something I haven't dealt with before."

Nonetheless, Robertson believes going through this struggle has only made him stronger mentally.

"It's good to know that I have this in kind of my back pocket, to know how to respond to it and build confidence in little areas when the pucks aren’t going to net," he explained.

Staying positive has been key, as Robertson enjoys being an NHL player and feeding off the energy of his teammates, even when he's not producing. Robertson hopes that he can build on this goal moving forward.

Christopher Tanev, Matthew Knies, William Nylander and John Tavares also scored for the Leafs. Meanwhile, the Lightning goals came from Cameron Atkinson, Michael Eyssimont and Jake Guentzel.

Craig Berube said on Nick Robertson breaking his scoring slump

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube commented on forward Nick Robertson breaking out of his scoring slump in the team's recent game.

Berube said:

"Hopefully, it will give him confidence. We talked to him today about it. Build off of it. I thought Nick had a good game. He was working hard. He had some chances. One went in for him, which was great. He just has to keep at it. That’s all.”

Berube emphasized Robertson's strong work ethic and mentioned that he had discussed with him the importance of positioning himself closer to the net to score more "greasy" goals. He expressed his satisfaction at seeing him score a goal after the slump.

The Maple Leafs play next on Monday night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.