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Maple Leafs Coach Assigns Blame After Game 7 Collapse

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nathan Dougherty | Last updated May 19, 2025 1:18 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs weathered a furious first period from the Florida Panthers in Sunday's Game 7, holding them without a goal heading into the first intermission.

That's when the wheels fell off for the Leafs, giving up six goals over the next two periods to lose 6-1 and see their hopes of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in more than 25 years evaporate.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Leafs head coach Craig Berube said his team simply failed to handle the pressure of the elimination game.

"We got out of the first period. They came hard in the first 10 or 11 minutes. We weathered that storm," Berube told reporters. "I thought we started to come. We took a penalty and killed it off.

Craig Berube was heated during the second period

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"Going into the second, it was more of the same, like the first. We just didn’t handle the pressure that they came with tonight. It obviously wasn’t good enough."

Berube added that the Game 7 blowout was even more disappointing given the team's fight in Game 6. The Leafs got a pair of third-period goals and shut out the Panthers to win 2-0 and force Game 7 at home.

"Coming off that Game 6, we come home for Game 7 and are feeling really good," Berube said. "But they were the better team tonight. They were the more desperate team tonight. They were the more aggressive team tonight. That is what I take out of the game."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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