Maple Leafs hold meeting, 'trying to get (skid) straightened out'
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On the verge of experiencing their longest winless streak of the 2024-25 season, the Maple Leafs put their heads together on Sunday morning.
The team held a meeting, led by coach Craig Berube, in Salt Lake City, with the goal of pushing themselves out of a three-game spin.
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Maple Leafs hold meeting, 'trying to get (skid) straightened out' Back to video
They will attempt to do so on Monday night against a Utah Hockey Club team that is 13 points below them in the overall National Hockey League standings in the finale of a three-game trip.
“Guys spoke and we’re trying to get this thing straightened out,” Berube told media. “It’s on everybody. Everybody is part of it. We’re a team. We have to be better in front of (the goalies), and I’m sure they want goals back that go in.
“It’s on all of us, coaches included. We have to get back on track. We’ve been a good defensive team all year and we have to get back on to that because we are scoring goals and that’s good. But we are giving up too many.”
Berube would not get into specifics about who said what.
“We had a good meeting,” Berube said. “That’s where I leave it.”
After winning seven of their eight games in February and their first one in March, the Leafs have lost three in a row, including the past two in regulation by three goals. It’s the fourth time this season the Leafs have gone winless in three, but they’ve nipped each previous dip in the bud in the fourth game.
“Just resetting as a group, taking a deep breath,” Leafs captain Auston Matthews said of the team’s focus. “The results over the last couple of games haven’t been good, but I think as well our game maybe hasn’t been trending in the right direction.
“It’s everybody taking a look in the mirror, being better and holding each other accountable. We have a chance to end the trip on the right foot with a game against a good team that’s going to be desperate.”
Said defenceman Morgan Rielly: “You get back to your strengths. You focus on your work ethic, you focus on structure, and you go from there.We believe in our group and the players we have, we believe in our structure.”
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