<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> head coach Craig Berube provided some candid criticism after his team lost <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-blow-opportunity-ground">5-2 to the Nashville Predators</a> on Saturday.</p>
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<p>After bursting out to a 2-0 lead, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/5-takeaways-toronto-maple-leafs-nashville-predators-mccabe-tanev-struggle-defensive-mistakes-ugly-loss">Nashville scored five unanswered goals</a>. It was a prime opportunity for the Maple Leafs to take the Atlantic Division, as the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning lost earlier Saturday, but it was a listless final forty minutes from Berube&#8217;s side.</p>
<p>&#8220;We had a real good first, they came out and looked more hungry than us in the second period. They didn&#8217;t give us a lot of room but we didn&#8217;t fight for it either,&#8221; Berube said.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was a total flip. What we did to them in the first what they did to us in the second and we had breakdowns that cost goals. There was no reason for it. It&#8217;s 2-2, late in the third period and we get caught on a 3-on-1.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/john-tavares-toronto-maple-leafs-loss-nashville-predators-pissed">John Tavares</a> and Mitch Marner provided the Maple Leafs with a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission, but Matthew Knies ended the first frame by taking a careless interference penalty. It was an entirely different game from there onwards, as Michael Bunting scored on the ensuing power play, and the Predators never looked back.</p>
<p>Joseph Woll was perhaps the lone player excused from the 5-2 result, and Berube wasn&#8217;t particularly worried about his performance.</p>
<p>&#8220;I thought he was fine. I am not sure what he can do on any of the goals, to be honest with you, when I look at it,&#8221; Berube said post-game. &#8220;Maybe the second one — the short side one — but he made saves. On the third one, Tanev slides, and it ends up going into the goalie. He got out of position, but there was nothing he could do about that. We can’t have breakdowns like that in the game. For me, that is mental.&#8221;</p>
<p>There will be plenty of time to examine the tape, but the Maple Leafs have Sunday off and resume their schedule against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don’t know if I am surprised,&#8221; Berube said. &#8220;There are things that happen throughout the year — mental mistakes — and it could be a number of things. I haven’t seen the mental mistakes like we made tonight in a while.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will look at it. We’ll discuss it with the team and go over things. We’ll go over how we looked in the first period, too. Like I said, it was a flip of the switch there.&#8221;</p>
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<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> head coach Craig Berube provided some candid criticism after his team lost <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-blow-opportunity-ground">5-2 to the Nashville Predators</a> on Saturday.
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After bursting out to a 2-0 lead, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/5-takeaways-toronto-maple-leafs-nashville-predators-mccabe-tanev-struggle-defensive-mistakes-ugly-loss">Nashville scored five unanswered goals</a>. It was a prime opportunity for the Maple Leafs to take the Atlantic Division, as the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning lost earlier Saturday, but it was a listless final forty minutes from Berube's side.

"We had a real good first, they came out and looked more hungry than us in the second period. They didn't give us a lot of room but we didn't fight for it either," Berube said.

"It was a total flip. What we did to them in the first what they did to us in the second and we had breakdowns that cost goals. There was no reason for it. It's 2-2, late in the third period and we get caught on a 3-on-1."

<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/john-tavares-toronto-maple-leafs-loss-nashville-predators-pissed">John Tavares</a> and Mitch Marner provided the Maple Leafs with a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission, but Matthew Knies ended the first frame by taking a careless interference penalty. It was an entirely different game from there onwards, as Michael Bunting scored on the ensuing power play, and the Predators never looked back.

Joseph Woll was perhaps the lone player excused from the 5-2 result, and Berube wasn't particularly worried about his performance.

"I thought he was fine. I am not sure what he can do on any of the goals, to be honest with you, when I look at it," Berube said post-game. "Maybe the second one — the short side one — but he made saves. On the third one, Tanev slides, and it ends up going into the goalie. He got out of position, but there was nothing he could do about that. We can’t have breakdowns like that in the game. For me, that is mental."

There will be plenty of time to examine the tape, but the Maple Leafs have Sunday off and resume their schedule against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.

"I don’t know if I am surprised," Berube said. "There are things that happen throughout the year — mental mistakes — and it could be a number of things. I haven’t seen the mental mistakes like we made tonight in a while.

"We will look at it. We’ll discuss it with the team and go over things. We’ll go over how we looked in the first period, too. Like I said, it was a flip of the switch there."
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