Date: November 22, 2025
Source: Toronto Maple Leafs (YouTube)
Following Saturday’s 5–2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube spoke about the disastrous second period, momentum swings, veteran urgency, Joseph Woll’s performance, the decision to pull him, the impact of injuries, and why the loss was “inexcusable” for a veteran group.
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On What Went Wrong in the Second Period
“Right off the first draw we get an easy breakout. We don’t make the easy play, turn it over, now they’re in our end. They make a couple plays, get a couple good looks. That was basically the period. Then we took penalties because you’re in your end too much. We kill three in a row. That was the second period.”
On Montreal’s First Goal
“It was a tough one. Stecher kind of spun him and the shot was off. Woll probably wouldn’t have got there. It was close. It was a tough one.”
On Joseph Woll’s Night and the Decision to Pull Him
“He was excellent. I pulled him — we were just giving freebies to him. I’d had enough.”
On whether it was to wake up the team or help Woll: “Both. We’re down a goalie already, so both.”
On What It Will Take to Turn Things Around
“Getting some people back in the lineup definitely helps, 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 yourself out of anything.”
On Whether He Saw Any Positives Late
“I’d go back the last three games. I thought we made good strides. I didn’t mind our first period. There’s a couple breakdowns and we’re down 2–0, but I don’t understand why we can’t go out in the second period and dictate how we’re going to play. They dictated the game in the second period. They put their foot on the gas and took it to us.”
On Momentum and Confidence Issues
“What I’ve seen a few times this year is when we get down a couple goals, especially in the second period, we don’t play with any urgency or any confidence because we’re down. That’s an excuse all day long for me. This is a veteran hockey team. It’s inexcusable and it’s on me too. It’s on all of us. With a veteran team like that, that shouldn’t happen.”
On Jake McCabe’s Injury
“Upper body. I don’t know the timeline right now, but bad enough he couldn’t come back and play.”
On Injuries Making It Hard to Build Momentum
“It makes it difficult for sure, but again, it is what it is. This is what we have and we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be better — that’s the bottom line. We showed we can do it. These guys have been out for a while now. We’ve played some pretty good hockey at times. There’s no reason that didn’t happen tonight.
“We came out with the right mindset in the first period and did a pretty good job. But you can’t lose all the momentum because they scored a couple goals. We’re a veteran team and it’s inexcusable.”
Pulse Takeaway
Berube didn’t mince words. While he liked the opening period and the strides made in recent games, he blasted the second-period collapse as “inexcusable” for a veteran team. He praised Joseph Woll’s play despite pulling him to spark the group and expressed frustration with momentum loss, penalties, and shaky confidence when trailing. Injuries remain a factor, but the message was clear: structure, urgency, and a full 60-minute effort are non-negotiable.
Quotes from Craig Berube via Toronto Maple Leafs (YouTube).
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and length.