Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube made his frustration clear in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators, letting his emotions show on the bench as his team struggled.
Berube, known for his intense approach, was seen shouting at star forward William Nylander midway through the second period, with TSN cameras capturing the heated moment (h/t TicTacTOmar on X) just after Toronto gave up their third goal.
After the game, both Berube and Nylander addressed the incident.
“Sometimes it’s called for, and the team needs a little bit of a wake-up call. That’s great,” Nylander said, per David Alter of The Hockey News. “I mean, you just hear him talking. I don’t see what he’s doing back there or whatever, but I think it’s great.”
The Leafs, who missed a chance to extend their three-game winning streak, struggled throughout the game, managing just 27 shots on Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark while allowing the Senators 41 attempts on Anthony Stolarz.
Berube was visibly dissatisfied with his team’s energy on Tuesday, and he made his thoughts clear when he addressed the media after the game.
“Not a good game for us,” Berube said. “There wasn’t much good to talk about in the game overall. We got outskated, they wanted it more than us. That’s the bottom line.”
Berube also touched on Nylander’s particular performance, saying the forward “showed bursts of things,” and adding he “had the puck and did some things,” via Maple Leafs Hot Stove.
The Leafs (22 points in 18 games) bounced back from Tuesday’s loss by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in overtime one day later, getting closer to the Florida Panthers (23) in the Atlantic Division standings.