Berube's guidance in 1st year has Maple Leafs on verge of East Final

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Saturday was the one-year anniversary of Craig Berube being hired as Toronto Maple Leafs coach.

What a difference 365 days can make.

Under the guidance of the 59-year-old, the Maple Leafs have won seven postseason games this spring, the most since they made it to the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2002.

Twenty-three years later, they can qualify for a final four matchup against the Hurricanes again, this time with a victory against the Florida Panthers in a dramatic winner-take-all Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Panthers at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

Toronto comes into the contest having flopped in these situations, losing six consecutive Game 7s. Its most recent one, a 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round last year, would be the last hurrah for coach Sheldon Keefe, who was fired shortly afterward.

Enter Berube, who is candid whenever Toronto's history of postseason shortcomings comes up.

Simply put, he wasn't there. Nor does he care.

As such, his message to these Maple Leafs heading into their biggest game in more than two decades is a simple one.

"Relax," he said Saturday, grinning ear to ear.

It would serve the players to listen to their coach, given how astute his advice has been this past year.

Consider the events of the past week as an example.

The Maple Leafs came into Game 6 of their best-of-7 series on an emotional downer after a 6-1 defeat in Game 5 in what might have been their worst game of the season. It was so bad that fans began leaving late in the second period. One who stayed for the third ended up chucking an Auston Matthews jersey on the ice in disgust.

The loss left the Maple Leafs trailing 3-2 in the series against the defending Stanley Cup champions with Game 6 in South Florida on Friday. In past years, it would have been a recipe for a crushed fan base to cry in unison the words "Same old Leafs."

Except this time, they changed the narrative, at least for one night.

This time, they listened to their coach. This time, they heeded his blueprint of getting back to a north-south game, dumping pucks into the offensive zone, eliminating attempts to make cutesy plays in the neutral zone and showing guts in winning the majority of puck battles, something they failed to do in Game 5.

The result: a huge 2-0 victory in which they didn't look anything like the same fumbling, stumbling, bumbling team that had disgruntled patrons in Toronto fleeing for the exits just 48 hours earlier.

"I think it goes to what we talked about before playoffs," Berube said. "I mean, there's a lot of ups and downs in playoffs. And [Game 5] was a downer for sure. But you have to turn the page. You have to focus on the next game.

"I mean, these guys know how to play good hockey. It's not like they don't know how. And, you know, I think it's just about getting their focus back and moving on after a tough game, just like you have to move on after a good game. And I think they've done a good job of that, getting focused on the next one and just being more determined.

"I thought there was a lot of determination in Game 6. And that's on them. They did a good job of that. And they brought the emotion."

Most importantly, that emotion was positive, not negative, thanks in part to their unflappable keep-your-eyes-on-the-prize coach.

"He's been awesome," forward Scott Laughton said Saturday at the team hotel before the Maple Leafs took their charter back to Toronto. "I think it's just his demeanor and how composed he is. He trusts you and you appreciate that as a player. He talks to you.

"It's been a lot of fun. He's a very composed guy off the ice as well. And I think he's helped us a ton."

* * *

Berube is no stranger to the pressure of these winner-take-all situations.

After all, six years ago, he was on the biggest stage of them all, a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, one of only 18 in the 108-year history of the NHL.

Berube was the coach of the upstart St. Louis Blues at the time and brought his team to TD Garden as significant underdogs against the host Boston Bruins. No matter. On June 12, 2019, in front of a raucous Boston crowd, the Blues rode first-period goals by Ryan O'Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo, and a 32-save performance by goalie Jordan Binnington, to a 4-1 victory, clinching the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in the process.

Game 7 pressure? Meh. For Berube, been there, done that.

"I don't think we prepared any different than we normally do," he recalled. "You know, our Game 6 against Florida was similar to a Game 7. We had to win.

"Again, the key is to not complicate the game. That Game 7 in Boston, it was similar to [the win Friday]. There was not a lot going on in that game. I mean, [the Bruins] had a power play early on, our goalie made some good saves, and we went on to get a couple of goals before the period ended.

"It's all about puck pressure and checking and managing the puck. It really is. And you just have to stay patient with your game."

For Berube, the hours prior to puck drop of a Game 7 are the hardest part.

"There's a lot of waiting around," he said with a chuckle. "I enjoy when things get going much more. I mean, the game is not played throughout the day. You've got to keep everything in check and not overthink things. Just let things happen throughout the day, and it'll come to you. And then, when the puck drops, you'll be ready to go.

"That's the best I can tell you."

Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson couldn't agree more.

A year ago, he was with the Panthers when they hosted the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers entered the game in danger of becoming the fifth team in NHL history to lose a postseason best-of-7 series after building a 3-0 lead, joining the 1942 Detroit Red Wings, 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins, 2010 Bruins and 2014 San Jose Sharks.

In the end, Ekman-Larsson and his teammates would not allow that to happen, skating to a 2-1 win in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup.

"It's a lot of fun to get the shot to play in a big game like that," he said Saturday. "It's what you dream about as a kid, and it's a really good experience."

The key, he said, is not to get too down when adversity strikes, such as the Panthers experienced last year when the Oilers defeated them three consecutive times to force Game 7.

"I mean, if you look throughout the playoffs, there are so many momentum swings," he said. "You play good for a period, then the other team does the same and has a push back. So you have to stay in the moment and go shift by shift and don't look too far ahead.

"I think we've been good at those things this year. And obviously [Berube] knows what it takes. He's a very good coach, a smart coach. And, I mean, going back to to when we started this season, I think he's really helped this group by emphasizing to stay in the moment and focus on what we have to do on the next shift.

"I think that's something we've been getting better at throughout the year."

* * *

It would be easy for the core group of Matthews, forwards Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, and defenseman Morgan Rielly to feel their guts churn heading into Game 7. All but Tavares have lost five straight of them (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024) while wearing a Maple Leafs jersey. Tavares has been on the wrong end of three with Toronto.

Yet there was no fear or trepidation in their voices after the shutout victory in Game 6 concerning the task that lies ahead in Game 7, where the home crowd will be sitting on eggshells hoping the demons of Game 7s past will be exorcized, partially due to the leadership of Berube.

"It's always fun, it's always exciting," Marner said. "And I think it's only the first or second one I'll play at home, so it'll be great to do it in front of our fan base. I'm sure they'll be ready for us."

A year ago, Marner was on the ice when David Pastrnak of the Bruins scored the series winner in overtime of Game 7 in Boston, yet another heart-wrenching elimination for the Maple Leafs. This time around, it's a new opportunity with a new coach, one who preaches a simple lesson of success.

"It's all about work ethic," Berube said. "Work hard, battle hard and the skill will show itself from that."

It's a template that worked for the 2019 Blues. Now it's time to see if the 2025 Maple Leafs can follow suit, at least for one night.

What better belated anniversary present could there be for Berube than that?