‘It’s a wake-up call’: Leafs’ Berube on team’s response since hit on Matthews

TORONTO – Now five days removed from the dangerous Radko Gudas knee-on-knee hit which ended Auston Matthews’ season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still trying to make right on the response to the hit, or lack thereof.

The Leafs have once again been the focus of the hockey world, as the team failing to stick up for their injured captain has had many questioning about the team toughness of the group, particularly the core. Morgan Rielly and William Nylander brushed it off, saying they didn’t get a good look at the hit to give a proper response.

But since then, there has been a bit more of a response from the Leafs. The third period of that game against the Anaheim Ducks saw Toronto play more physically and rally to win 6-4. They’ve since converted on that and started a small streak, getting points in all three games and five of a possible six, their most successful stretch of hockey since the Olympic break.

It doesn’t make up for the lack of response in the immediate moments of the hit, but it’s the most life we’ve seen from them in quite some time. At the very least, they aren’t forgetting about it, which is the next best thing.

“It’s something we’ve talked about almost daily, about getting in there for each other and being physical and hard to play against,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said ahead of Tuesday’s game against the New York Islanders. “Just the other night, the goaltender in Buffalo, OEL’s right in there and we have everybody in there. That’s what we need to look like all the time.

“Sometimes it’s a wake-up call. It really is. If I look back from that game on and how competitive we’ve been and how physical we’ve been, it’s a big difference for me.”

That response has also been in part due to the insurgence of Toronto Marlies into the lineup. Benoit-Olivier Groulx is the most notable example, with three goals in four games, but the Leafs are proving they have a bit of fight left in them, even if they sit 11 points out of a playoff spot with only 14 games remaining.