“Close,” Craig Berube says of the Leafs, but even with familiar improvement issues exposed

BOSTON – Immediately following a 4-3 overtime loss to the team Boston Bruins — Torontohis third straight loss – things were starting to sound different for the Maple Leafs.

They had a much more upbeat tone than after the previous two defeats. More before, less about taking ownership of their game as they did after being embarrassed by Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues at the beginning of the week.

“Almost,” head coach Craig Berube said when asked where the team is right now compared to where it wants to be. “I thought we came back to check it better tonight, we were hard around our net, hard in the battles. Offensively, we can do more. We have a lot of offensive zone time in these games and we have to get better at creating a little bit more in that time.”

And it is a justified attitude, to an extent. There were a lot more signs of encouragement in the Leafs’ game against the Bruins compared to their previous two efforts.

But zoom out and the Leafs still find themselves at 4-4-1 after nine games. Sound familiar? This is the same record they held after nine games in 2021-22 and 2022-23. They had just one more win after nine games last season.

As the familiar Bruins victory song, the Standells’ “Dirty Water,” rang through TD Garden as the Leafs packed up their gear after the game, it certainly felt like the more things change, the more I remain the same.

Even with a new coach in tow, so much of what plagued this core in the past has resurfaced through this mini-slump.

It was the slow start: The Bruins heavily outplayed the Leafs in the first period, with the visitors offering no high-danger chances at five-on-five through 20 minutes. Only a late game drive led by their core resulted in a tying goal with just over a minute left in overtime. And it was that core that drove the team’s production. Seven points combined from Mitch Marner, Austin Matthews, Morgan Rielly and John Tavares it’s good, but a further reminder that this team lacks the secondary scoring needed. The way this team is put together, if the Leafs core isn’t producing, they’re in trouble.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard, the Leafs’ power play still it lacks synchronicity and, most importantly, punch. They went 0-for-3 with the man advantage against the Bruins. That included a five-on-three, though the Leafs didn’t have much to show for it. The Leafs’ power play is down to a 10% conversion rate on the season.

Slow starts, a bad power play, defensive mistakes and a lack of secondary scoring are not new problems for this team.

But these are still issues Berube is likely seeing up close and personal for the first time in his Leafs tenure.

After a start to the season that had sense of another Leafs team, Berube’s honeymoon period definitely feels over. He was brought in to give the Leafs a different identity. Whether Berube can right the lingering mistakes and develop consistency within this group will determine whether they can truly latch on to the identity they desire.

“It takes time,” Matthews said of Berube’s new approach. “Sometimes it won’t click perfectly, right away. I think you just want to take positive steps in the right direction.”

While there were definite signs of life against the Bruins, can Berube get his big guns in the best spots so he can produce more consistently?

The Leafs stars deserve credit for their late-game push against the Bruins. Marner was game-high with three assists, including a season-best to set up Rielly’s goal.

That magic was very nice pic.twitter.com/oiPcmYf7PY

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 27, 2024

But many times during this defeat Matthew Kniesthe second-year pro, has looked like the team’s best — or at least most visible — forward.

“We’ve got to get more top-to-bottom shots, that’s one thing,” Berube said. “And look to shoot a little faster. I think there were times in the third period where all our forwards were blocked at the net and we couldn’t get (the puck) through. We have to come out and create a little more separation in the offensive zone.”

Then there is the slow start. Can Berube make his team rise to his increased physical demands for long stretches of the season?

Up and down, the Leafs have looked like the most tired group in each of the last three games. Second to lose pucks. A short step when trying to close down the opposition through the neutral zone.

Berube demanded more from this team through a physically demanding training camp. Do they catch up as their schedules start to get crowded?

And being a slow pace hurt the Leafs in their defensive zone play, especially in the second period.

After a turnover in its own area, Anthony Stolarz made a crucial save on the Bruins forward Frederic Trent. But while the Leafs were crowding Frederic, the Bruins were ahead Justin Brazeau easily stuffed home a rebound.

Bruins ahead Mark Kastelic was then left wide open in front of the Leafs goal and didn’t need long to give the Bruins their second goal in less than a minute.

In overtime, Matthews anticipated a teammate was close, but turned the puck over just before Brad Marchandthe game winning goal.

“It was a tough play with Auston,” Berube said. “We’ve got to back him up a little bit better on that play. I left him there alone. It was a mistake by everyone there.”

Can Berube get this team to step up defensively game after game?

“Obviously there are always going to be little mistakes that you want to clean up. I think the power play is still looking to improve,” Rielly said.

finally, that power play.

Again, to the Leafs’ credit, there appears to be an understanding of What it affects them with the advantage of man.

“Just execution,” Rielly said of their struggles to cleanly get into the offensive zone with the man advantage. “In the grand scheme of things, when you look at the game and it might not go your way, it all comes down to execution and then it goes from there.”

Putting it into practice remains another story. For Berube and his coaching staff, getting this team out of its power-play funk could be the spark it needs to get back into the win column early in the season.

The Leafs coach has now experienced the highs and lows of this team through October. The honeymoon period of a new coach is in the rearview mirror.

Changing this team for good looks like a much tougher task than expected at the start of the month.

(Photo of Maple Leafs starting to leave the ice as Bruins celebrate: Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)