Craig Berube sends urgent message to Maple Leafs to avoid collapse vs. Panthers

The Toronto Maple Leafs are suddenly in a dire situation. Toronto had an epic collapse in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, losing 2-0 against Florida. If the Leafs have a repeat performance in Game 5, they will almost certainly lose the series.

Toronto played like an undisciplined team throughout Game 4. Leafs head coach Craig Berube sent an urgent message to his team after losing another game in the series.

“We don’t need to take those,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said of the team’s penalties. “Hookings and interference. We’ve got to be better. We’ll be smarter than that. In the end, I really liked our physicality, our compete out there. The guys played hard.”

The Leafs committed four penalties in the first period alone, getting the game off to a rough start.

Toronto survived those penalties though, thanks to some impressive defensive play and a great game by goalie Joseph Woll. However, they could not do enough to come out on top.

The most backbreaking penalty came early in the third period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson received an interference penalty after laying a big hit on his former teammate Evan Rodrigues.

Toronto never got their momentum back and it cost them the game.

Berube is smart to issue a warning to his team because they need to hear it.

The Leafs made history in a bad way after Game 4. Toronto suffered their first road shutout loss in the playoffs since 2000.

William Nylander does not believe it is time for the Leafs to panic just yet. However, he understands the significance of playing better in Game 5.

“I mean 2-2, it’s going to be a long series. That’s where our mind’s at,” the Maple Leafs star said, via The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.

Toronto will host Florida for Game 5 of the series on Wednesday night.

The winner of Game 5 will have a significant advantage, guaranteeing a seven-game series at worst.