Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube can expect a hero’s welcome Saturday when he returns to St. Louis on the visitor’s bench for the first time since the Blues fired him last season.
But Berube, who led the Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup, will be focused on delivering a better performance than his last matchup against his old team: a 5-1 loss on Oct. 24 in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs have gone 2-0-1 since that game, when Berube called their effort “a little cute.” They will try to extend their point streak to four games when they begin a road back-to-back in St. Louis.
Toronto is coming off Thursday’s 4-1 victory over the visiting Seattle Kraken. William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll, a St. Louis-area native, made 24 saves for the Maple Leafs.
“I thought we grinded through — maybe not our cleanest game that way — but grinded through and found a way to win and Woll played amazing,” Nylander said.
Woll credited his squad’s defense after the win.
“We did a good job of really limiting their high-quality chances and we played a really sound game defensively, made some big blocks and were able to close it out at the end,” he said.
John Tavares earned two assists, giving him three goals and six assists during his six-game point streak. He is back to full strength after recovering from an illness earlier this season.
“I thought before he got sick, he was fine, but the sickness affected him,” Berube said. “He lost 10 pounds so it was energy-wise and stuff through three games or more (were affected). But he’s been heavy on pucks, strong on the puck, heavy stick, doing the little things right, faceoffs, all good stuff.”
The Blues have lost three straight games since that victory at Toronto. After suffering a 5-2 defeat at Montreal and an 8-1 blowout at Ottawa, St. Louis delivered a more determined effort Thursday during its 2-1 loss at Philadelphia.
“Our compete level was a lot higher,” Blues coach Drew Bannister told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We won more puck battles. We were getting to the interior. We put a lot of pucks to the net and credit to them, they were able to block a lot and we missed some pretty good opportunities.”
The Blues are 1-3-0 since losing No. 1 center Robert Thomas for approximately six weeks with a broken ankle. Defenseman Nick Leddy and forward Mathieu Joseph are also sidelined by lower-body injuries.
“Yeah, it is tough, but that’s the way it is when you’re in a position like we are where we haven’t played well,” Bannister said. “The mistakes are amplified and it’s not easy to get out of these little slumps. We’ve got to work for it.”
St. Louis has sunk to 23rd in the league in power play efficiency with a 15.4 percent conversion rate. They were 0-for-2 with the man advantage against the Flyers.
“It’s tough,” said Blues winger Jordan Kyrou, who hasn’t scored since his two-goal effort in the team’s season opener. “I think we’re definitely fighting it a little bit right now. We’ve just got to stay with it and just keep going and we’ve got to grind.”
