‘It’s all between the ears’: Leafs’ Craig Berube notes after another Game 7 loss
It’s the same old song and dance in the hockey mecca of the world, and the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach knows it.
When speaking to the media after his team’s loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Atlantic Division Final, Maple Leafs bench boss Craig Berube was asked about the team’s inability to get the job done when series go the distance and whether the moment was too big for them.
Berube responded by saying it’s not the moment that overwhelms his players, but the memory of past playoff failures.
"For me, it's all between the ears. It's a mindset."
Craig Berube talks about his team following a Game 7 loss to the Panthers pic.twitter.com/fZKKkmc6p6
“I don’t think the moment’s too big for them,” Berube said. “We went to Ottawa [Senators] and won Game 6, and won a series. We went to Florida, won Game 6 to make it a Game 7. … For me, it’s all between the ears. It’s a mindset.”
The Leafs were embarrassed in the final game of their season, losing 6-1 on home ice to the defending Stanley Cup champions. It marked the team’s seventh straight loss in a Game 7 dating back to 2004 and the 11th consecutive postseason appearance in which Toronto failed to make it past the second round.
Berube believes the team had what it took to win the series, but they weren’t able to execute as well as they needed to.
“These guys are capable of doing it. You just got to execute and we didn’t execute it. We didn’t execute it in Game 5 and we didn’t execute it in Game 7. I don’t have an answer for that.”
Berube was in his first year with the Leafs, guiding the team to its first division title in a “normal” season since the 1999-00 campaign. Some believed the regular-season success would translate to a deep run in the playoffs for the first time in over two decades, but the team inevitably fell short of expectations once again.
The “Core Four” of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander has won just two playoff series during their time together, losing six winner-take-all games in this era of the team. Though the team’s offseason is just beginning, many wonder what’s next for the Leafs and who will be donning the blue and white next fall.