We dedicate this edition of the Hidden Game to Toronto head coach Craig Berube.
Berube could have continued doing television work in the U.S. for TNT — easy money with little pressure — but figured coaching the Maple Leafs, a team that hasn’t won, let alone played for, the Stanley Cup since 1967, and remains habitual underachievers in post-season play, was a better gig.
Perhaps the 59-year-old, who played for five NHL teams, including the Leafs and was as tough as they come, was hit too frequently during his career? Or the guy likes challenges and figures he can accomplish what so many before him could not?
Maybe Berube can. The Leafs displayed remarkable resolve Saturday night at the Bell Centre, overcoming an opening-period three-goal deficit en route to an incredible 7-3 victory.
Toronto sits atop the Atlantic Division standings. Nothing surprising or remarkable about that. Let’s now see what this team’s capable of — if anything — come April and potentially May.
As for Berube, one statistic jumps out at us from his NHL playing career: 3,149 penalty minutes in 1,054 games. In case you’re wondering, that’s the equivalent of more than 52 hours he spent in the penalty box. We did the math. Actually, Google did.
Slap in the face: Berube decided to make defenceman and Laval native Simon Benoit a healthy scratch against the Canadiens. It marked the second time in Benoit’s career he was denied an opportunity to play in front of family and friends. A similar scenario occurred last March 9 under former head coach Sheldon Keefe. Benoit, for what it’s worth, has a team-leading 120 hits this season. Heading into play Saturday night, that was second in the NHL.
News you need (Part I): Toronto has now defeated Montreal seven of the last eight times, dating back to Feb. 18, 2023.
News you need (Part II): With an assist on the Canadiens’ second goal, scored by Patrik Laine, rookie defenceman Lane Hutson increased his point streak to seven games. In the process, the 20-year-old also matched the franchise record for the longest point streak by a rookie rearguard.
News you need (Part III):Kirby Dach, who opened the scoring slightly more than five minutes into the game, now has seven goals in his last 11 games.
Another Cy Young candidate: Laine scored a goal and added an assist. His line following 17 games reads 11-3.
Free dental care comes in handy: Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki lost a tooth in the first period after being high-sticked by Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who was assessed a double minor.
Double whammy: Not only did Max Domi lose a faceoff to Jake Evans, he appeared to have no clue how to backcheck on the Canadiens’ third goal, scored by Josh Anderson, late in the first period.
News you need (Part IV): The goals by Laine and Anderson came nine seconds apart. That was tied for the third-fastest pair scored by Montreal against Toronto. The Canadiens scored two in five seconds, somehow, on Feb. 15, 1919. And on Nov. 4, 1965, two goals came in a span of seven seconds.
Hit of the night: Early in the second period, Arber Xhekaj destroyed Ryan Reaves, who had his head down, in front of the Leafs’ bench.
News you need (Part V): Reaves has yet to have a fight this season. He also has yet to score in 29 games. So, what exactly is his purpose?
Where potential goals go to die: Christian Dvorak, still stuck on three goals this season despite time on the second power-play unit, hit the post in the second period — just before Toronto scored its first goal..
With friends like this: Former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty took a Matthews shot off his face in the second period. Pacioretty returned in the third wearing a full visor.
Late goals kill: Nick Robertson scored at 18:46 of that period, narrowing the Leafs’ deficit to 3-2. It took the visitors only 24 seconds in the third period to tie the score. From there, there was no looking back.
Dumb penalty: Dvorak for holding behind the Canadiens’ net in the third period.
He got the last laugh: Domi won a faceoff against Suzuki not long after, eventually resulting in the winning goal.
Dumber penalty: David Savard, for holding Reaves’s stick. Did the veteran defenceman actually believe Reaves was a threat to score?
Next time, decline the penalty: The Canadiens were 1-for-5 on the power play while allowing two shorthanded goals, although one was into an empty net.
Quick stats: Hutson incredibly was minus-5. Cole Caufield led the Canadiens with 10 shots. Michael Pezzetta continues being embarrassed by head coach Martin St. Louis. He played only five shifts, totalling 2:58. Samuel Montembeault’s save percentage was .818. Toronto’s William Nylander had seven shots. Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was a plus-4.
They said it: “I think we’ve shown enough maturity to get on the run we’ve been on,” Mike Matheson said. ”Just because this one didn’t go well doesn’t mean we need to lose all our confidence and the energy we’ve had coming into games. Definitely learn from it. Turn the page and move on, just like had we won. The intentions were there. We just couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
“I have to make the big save when we need them,” Montembeault said.
“It’s tough,” Anderson said. “It’s tough to go out there in the third period and get scored on the first shift. They took over the game there. It’s a tough one to swallow for sure. I think we’ve taken a lot of steps in the right direction. A lot of growth. Obviously, the game changed when we gave them some power plays. Momentum swung their way. This one stings right now.”