Leaf Takeaways: Craig Berube likes his team's ‘pack of wolves’ mentality

It’s a good thing the Maple Leafs bowed out at home, leaving fans applauding at Scotiabank Arena.

Saturday’s 5-0 win over Vancouver precedes a much different gamut next week on what will be a hardscrabble road trip. But as alternate captain John Tavares said, take a night to celebrate a shutout and the many elements helping a ninth straight game with a point, prior to a four-game Western trek.

Our takeaways as Toronto has clawed its way back to .500 (22-17-5):

WELCOME BACK WILLY

Though he eluded the media all day trying to get more info on his mystery two-week, lower-body injury, William Nylander’s three-point return was seamless.

No prep practice needed, as the team’s leading scorer made the most of 13:16 of ice time, with a crisp cross-ice pass on Matias Maccelli’s opening power play goal, then a beautiful deke on his own and a steal to set up John Tavares.

“It’s not fun to watch, but it is when we’re playing great,” Nylander said. “It was easy to jump in.”

There were the usual white-knuckle moments when Nylander almost lost pucks while dancing on the perimeter, but as his quick-thinking assist on Tavares’s goal showed, he does use most of his powers for the common good. That includes making Maccelli an effective winger at 5-on-5 and power play when the newcomer had a difficult first half adjusting to a set line.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

Given the way goalies Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz have been knocked around the past couple of years, good on the Leafs for cracking down the past few games when anyone takes liberties.

“I appreciate that guys stand tall around the crease, that’s important,” Woll said of aiding his 29-save shutout. “We have some big bodies through the lineup and some not-so-big bodies that take out the (opposition’s) big bodies.”

That would include defenceman Troy Stecher and rookie Easton Cowan, the latter who got into some rough stuff with Nils Hoglander after a blue-paint scrum. But the main event was Max Domi winning his bout with the taller Canuck Marcus Pettersson after Domi began his evening with a goal.

“Just awesome,” Maccelli said. “He threw a couple of rights, then switched to left. I didn’t know he had that. Unreal. He’s the heavyweight now.”

Given his own scrapper background, coach Craig Berube was all for some physicality on a team accused of being indifferent early in the season.

“Great job by Max and you can just see everybody get in there. I call them a pack of wolves, stick up for your teammates and your goalie. Cowboy (Cowan) is in there, too. We’re tight right now and we have to keep being tight.”

That’s in addition to 20 blocked shots and a 6-for-6 penalty kill. It was the first time in almost three calendar years the Leafs nullified four in the first period alone with a combination of Woll, active sticks and sacrificing bodies.

MATIAS MADE FOR POWER PLAY?

Go back to Maccelli’s days with the old Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24 to find his last man advantage goal before Saturday. For now, he’s on the first unit with Auston Matthews, Nylander, Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly.

“Who doesn’t want to play power play?,” Maccelli laughed. “It’s always fun to get those important goals.”

Of the moves Berube made to accommodate Nylander’s return, continuing to give Maccelli a high profile has some risks, but it worked out Saturday. Projected as a possible first-line left winger at camp, he’s bounced around and been scratched at times.

“Confidence is a big thing, and he has a lot of it right now,” Berube said. “He’s got a lot of composure with the puck, has a lot of good entries on the power play (a problem for the team right up to Christmas).

‘He had a great goal and a great read by Willy to see him there.”

Lhornby@postmedia.com 

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