Photo credit: Steven Ellis – Daily Faceoff
After a rough 4-0 loss to the Capitals on Thursday, things were more of the same for Craig Berube as he faces serious pressure to make some type of change.
Only a day after a 4-0 shutout loss to the Washington Capitals; a game where they had barely a whimper of life in them, it was back to business as they try to figure out where to go from here and what needs to be done to fix their issues.
Craig Berube stands pat at practice in stunning decision
Yet, a quick glance at the practice lines Craig Berube put out on Friday shows that the team is going to stick with the same old lineup as they have been, and even made a bit of a stunning decision on defense.
Not only did there seem to be no real effort to switch things up to try a new look, but Philippe Myers; a fringe player at best, is being slotted into the top spot alongside Morgan Rielly.
Sure they have had a bit of success previously, but with how inconsistent Myers has been, and Rielly’s ineffective defense at times; you’re asking for trouble.
Calle Jarnkrok came in for Steven Lorentz as well but it’s not exactly the needle-mover change the team has to make.
Toronto is facing a Predators team that has slowly turned things around even if slightly, and for a team like the Maple Leafs who are on the downfall, any momentum is amplified and Nashville has to feel good heading into home ice against a fractured opponent.
Is this Craig Berube waving the white flag?
There’s no more excuses. If the top lines are going to be put together still then it’s going to be up to them to figure it out, and at both ends of the ice. William Nylander can’t be slogging away defensively, and the team needs to stop with the half-efforts and start putting in work.
We haven’t even seen the fruits of their hard work lately. Remember when John Tavares kicked the puck away from three Blues players to set up a gorgeous OT winner? There’s none of that effort as of late, and keeping things as is won’t magically fix things.
For some, it’s a sign that Berube and the team have fallen out and that it’s a matter of when, and not if, he gets fired.
It’s almost as if Berube decided that if he isn’t able to fix things, he may as well let the inmates run the asylum. While he can’t publicly state that he’s waved the white flag, all his decisions and comments have shown he’s all but given up.
Things are tense in Toronto, even more so than they were with the entire Mitch Marner saga. If they don’t find a way to come together now, forget about making the playoffs.
They’ll have to worry about staying out of the basement and trying to make something out of a frankly, miserable season.
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Pressure mounts on Craig Berube after practice line decisions
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