Craig Berube calls Leafs’ effort level ‘inexcusable’ in loss to Canadiens

With every game played, the situation with the Toronto Maple Leafs just seems to get worse.

Playing in the Hockey Night in Canada spotlight Saturday, the Maple Leafs fell 5-2 to their rival Montreal Canadiens in an overall poor showing. The team has now lost seven of their last eight games, and sit just one point above last place in the Atlantic Division.

Amidst the team’s losing start to the year, head coach Craig Berube has faced criticism for not being able to whip this group into shape. Disappointed in yet another lacklustre effort from his team, Berube did not mince words when speaking to media after Saturday’s game.

“We can’t lose all the momentum because they scored a couple goals,” he said, per The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel. “We’re a veteran team. It’s inexcusable.”

Montreal found the opening goal of the game 12 minutes into the first period, then added another just over a minute later. From that early point, the Canadiens dominated the game, and it never really looked like the Leafs were poised to find their way back in it, falling to a 4-0 deficit by midway in the second.

Toronto showed a lack of adversity on Saturday night, in what is becoming a recurring pattern for the team this year. In that vein, Berube took some accountability himself while talking about the work that needs to be done.

“It’s inexcusable, and it’s on me too,” Berube continued, per TSN’s Mark Masters. “It’s on all of us. With a veteran team that shouldn’t happen.”

Of course, it’s worth noting the Maple Leafs are devastated injury-wise right now. They are currently missing key players, including Chris Tanev, Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Anthony Stolarz, and Jake McCabe, who went down in the second period Saturday. Berube acknowledged that the return of those players will be key to righting the ship, but made it clear he’s not interested in using those absences as an excuse.

“Obviously getting some people back in the lineup, that will help,” he said. “But until we decide to dig in and play the right way for 60 minutes on a consistent basis, it’s going to be hard to pull yourselves out of anything.”

Saturday night was the first of a six-game road trip, with the team next set to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. Now with a few days off, the Maple Leafs will have to reflect on Berube’s harsh words and ultimately decide what they want the next phase of their season to look like.