Outside noise from upset Leafs Nation hard to ignore now for team
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The outside noise only grows louder with each blown opportunity by the Maple Leafs to end this thing.
Tuesday, in the throes of a 4-0 loss that brought Ottawa within a win of tying a series Toronto once led 3-0, it was heard indoors, loud and clear.
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Many of those who hung around Scotiabank Arena to the bitter end did so just to boo.
Newspapers, TV, radio and social media were quick to pile on, with someone posting their funeral pyre for a Mitch Marner sweater.
Who can blame some of the vitriol when examining the Leafs’ sorry record of 1-13 trying to close out series in the Core Four era (A.D. 2018).
But Wednesday morning’s meeting, before an unwanted flight to Ottawa for Game 6, was a good time to activate their volume control remote, otherwise known as Craig Berube.
The man who absorbed hundreds of punches as an NHL rogue and many slings and arrows in previous coaching stops en route to the 2019 Stanley Cup with St. Louis, was ready for his first encounter with torches and pitchforks at the Bay Street gate.
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Not that the Leafs shouldn’t receive an earful after Game 5, but he wants his message getting through above all other.
“It gets to the point in playoffs where there’s more noise, a lot of ‘past’ stuff I hear around here,” Berube said. “That’s all fine, that’s part of it all.
“In my opinion. the only pressure they have is from their own teammates.”
As for the crowd turning on its own team Tuesday, Berube shrugged it off.
“That’s fans. They pay good money to come and watch. I’ve seen that wherever I’ve been. They want results.,” Berube said.
The 59-year-old Berube knows all about the 58-year Stanley Cup drought, the one series win since 2004 and all those excruciating losses in deciding games to Boston, Columbus, Tampa Bay Montreal and Florida. But he won’t take a deep dive into that file as a way of better understanding today’s frustrations.
“That’s not going to help me — or them,” he insisted.
Since being put in charge, he has proven adept at shifting hot-button issues to the back-burner, such as the unsigned Mitch Marner’s compatibility (the winger reached a career-best 100 points), Auston Matthews’s injury recovery, a couple of high-profile line demotions/promotions and the goaltending rotation.
The Leafs won the Atlantic Division title and still lead this series.
“I don’t know if my (role) changes that much,” Berube said. “My job is to try to get the best out of every player and the team to the best of my ability. Whether it’s now, Game 30 or Game 10.
“We’re up 3-2 and capable of winning it. I have a lot of belief in this team.”
For alternate captain Morgan Rlelly, this is his 10th playoff series and, outside of beating Tampa two years ago, the losses in tight, deciding games have not played well in the room or the streets.
The latest two defeats truly tested patience with what all were assured was a new Leafs playoff team.
“This team is different and there’s a belief within our group,” Rielly said. “It’s not hard (to shut out distractions). You guys have a job to do and we all respect that. For us, it’s doing our job.
‘We’re prepared to work hard on the good days, bad days, whatever. We have to stick together. It’s not something we talk about much, keeping things inside or outside.
“In moments like this in the playoffs, past and present, it brings you together when you face a little adversity. You hope it brings the best out of people.”
Forward Scott Laughton just spent more than a decade in Philadelphia, one of North America’s toughest sports towns for fan and media expectations. He came home to Oakville fully aware of the Leafs playoff hex and now he’s part of the narrative.
“I haven’t paid that much attention,” he insisted. “We’ve kept our circle pretty tight in here and (the same) at home. Yeah I know all about (playoff perils) and seeing it here, but you embrace it.
“This is what you play for.”
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