Craig Berube, Maple Leafs head coach In Los Angeles on Friday, head coach Craig Berube discussed OEL\u2019s status for Saturday\u2019s game, facing off against Scott Laughton as a member of the Kings, and the impressive career of Kings captain Anze Kopitar. <\/p>\n
What is Oliver Ekman-Larsson\u2019s status? Are there any other lineup changes for Saturday night?<\/p>\n
Berube: He is probably doubtful for Saturday night. I think it will take a couple of days as of right now.<\/p>\n
We have a couple of decisions to make at game time with a couple of banged-up guys. We\u2019ll see if they\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n
What will it be like for the players to see Scott Laughton in a Kings jersey?<\/p>\n
Berube: They\u2019ll be excited, and Scotty will be excited, too. He was a guy whom the guys really came to like a lot. He is that type of person in the locker room and on the ice with what he brings every night.<\/p>\n
I know he liked Toronto, too. He liked being there. I am sure they\u2019ll get together for whatever they do \u2014 beers, or a little food \u2014 and enjoy some time together. He was a very well-liked guy, Laughts, and we miss him.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your relationship with Laughton? What was it like working with him?<\/p>\n
Berube: It was great. He was a guy who I\u2019d kind of bust his balls a little bit every day. We\u2019d go back and forth at each other. Laughts and I go back to the Philly days, too.<\/p>\n
He has such a great personality and love for the game. He shows up every day with the same attitude. People are attracted to him.<\/p>\n
A few of the players were saying, knowing he is an unrestricted free agent, they would welcome him back to Toronto. Could you see him coming back?<\/p>\n
Berube: Oh yeah, for sure. I could see it, for sure. He really liked it in Toronto. He is from around there, too. That was a bit of a dream for him to go back home and play. I could see him going back there, for sure.<\/p>\n
Can you speak to Anze Kopitar\u2019s career, now that you\u2019re facing him for the last time on Saturday night? What comes to mind when you think of Kopitar?<\/p>\n
Berube: A lot. More than anything, it\u2019s consistency. He has been such a consistent player in how he plays the game. It\u2019s never changed. Two-way centerman. He was fortunate enough to be on two Stanley Cup-winning teams here and has been a great LA King. Great player in the National Hockey League for a long time.<\/p>\n
Do you think Kopitar is still underrated? If so, why?<\/p>\n
Berube: I think it\u2019s because he\u2019s not a flashy player. He is a big centerman who gets up and down the ice and also produces offensively, but he is a great defensive player. He was always the guy out there against top lines every night, shutting them down, doing the job defensively, and taking defensive-zone faceoffs. He managed to create offense out of that, too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like Bergeron in Boston. Similar type of player. There are not a lot of those types of guys, to be honest with you, who do all of that work in the defensive zone, take d-zone faceoffs, and yet, they\u2019re leading their team in points at the end of the year. They\u2019re great players to have on your team, and they\u2019re guys you win with.<\/p>\n
Do you think Kopitar would be a bigger star if he played in a more traditional hockey market?<\/p>\n
Berube: He could be, for sure, if you\u2019re talking in the east somewhere. Sometimes, you get a little lost out here in the West. No doubt. It\u2019s a good and fair question. If he is playing in Toronto, Montreal, New York, or somewhere like that, he\u2019d probably be a lot more appreciated and noticed.<\/p>\n
Practice Lines \u2013 Apr. 3 <\/p>\n
#Leafs<\/a> lines during practice Apr. 3\/26<\/p>\n Cowan-Tavares-Nylander Rielly-Myers Stolarz \u2014 David Alter (@davidalter) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n
Joshua-Domi-Robertson
Knies-Groulx-Maccelli
Pezzetta-Quillan-Lorentz\/Jarnkrok<\/p>\n
McCabe-Carlo
Benoit-Stecher
Absent: OEL (lower-body)<\/p>\n
Woll@Ozoon_CA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9vXJhmtDDu<\/a><\/p>\n