“I’m not making excuses. We get one power play a game, maybe two. I mean, that’s a little bit of a problem for sure,” Berube told reporters at practice on Friday. “Now, in saying that, we’ve got to do a better job of executing on our power plays with the chances we have.”
The eye test matches Berube’s stance on the team right now. The Leafs are past the point where they’re struggling to get set up and create chances to begin with, now it’s just about finishing on the chances they do generate. This is the conclusion Berube offered following practice.
“For me, we haven’t executed well enough. And that’s really what it boils down to. There have been plays we’ve had in tight or good chances. We miss a net. We didn’t execute well enough.”
Berube continued on this point, pointing to the team’s shot volume on the power play, before returning to the point about having trouble finishing plays.
“If you look at the stats, we’re one of the top teams that have shot the puck on the power play. That’s not a problem. I think we’ve got to keep shooting it, you got to keep attacking, but I think we just need to execute better on our Grade ‘A’ chances.
Asked what his team has to do to earn more power plays, Berube joked that it wasn’t his question to answer.
“I don’t know, you’d have to ask the league.” he said to a room of laughter.
The Leafs’ slow starts in October have been an ongoing issue for decades now, but each time, they’ve been saved by a stellar month of November. Just last season, they went 6-4-1 in the month of October before erupting for eight wins in November and a record of 8-3-1. With three wins in a row to start this year’s November, things are trending the way they always do around this time of year.
Of course, Berube was only here for last season, so he can’t speak to anything from previous years, but he recalls the team discovering their identity towards the end of the month and sees a similar trend this season.
“I can only go by the last year and a bit I’ve been here,” Berube said. “But I think what I’m seeing now, going back a little bit, even in later October is just playing to our identity and understanding that this is how we’re gonna have success. And, when we do it, we’re pretty good, we give ourselves a chance to win.
The Maple Leafs will play the third and fourth games of a four-game home-stand this weekend, beginning the weekend with a tilt against the Boston Bruins on Saturday before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
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