<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> head coach Craig Berube highlighted his team&#8217;s ability to withstand the physical onslaught as a key to their <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-pounce-ullmark-thump-senators">Game 1 win over the Ottawa Senators</a> on Sunday.</p>
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<p>The fifth instalment of the Battle of Ontario did not disappoint on the opening night of the series, with loads of physical play and high-intensity action. The Senators&#8217; lack of discipline was a major <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-pounce-ullmark-thump-senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deciding factor in the game</a> as the Leafs converted on three of their six power-play chances on the night.</p>
<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-berube-previews-physical-series-game-1-senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berube anticipated</a> that this type of hockey would be what his team was in for in this series, and he felt they handled the first wave well.</p>
<p>&#8220; We were physical in the first period. I thought they were, too. It&#8217;s physical and it&#8217;s gonna be physical,&#8221; Berube said post-game. &#8220; I thought that we did a good job of controlling our emotions and playing through it.  You have to.  It&#8217;s gonna be a battle, and it was.&#8221;</p>
<p>The big guns led the way in battling through the onslaught of physical play by Ottawa and were rewarded for their efforts with some timely goals on the man advantage. The Leafs were able to neutralize the opposition&#8217;s attack when it looked like they were going to generate some momentum and kept the pedal to the metal all night long.</p>
<p>Once the game got out of reach and the antics began to ramp up, Berube was impressed with his team&#8217;s ability to not get suckered into the fiasco and allow the Senators any chance at a comeback.</p>
<p>&#8220;Penalties are penalties.  We&#8217;re disciplined, we&#8217;re gonna keep being disciplined,&#8221; Berube said. &#8220; We&#8217;re gonna play hard between the whistles the right way and keep being physical, but we&#8217;re not gonna get involved in all the antics after the whistles or whatever.  Refs call games, they call penalties for whatever reasons. I thought we checked well with our feet and our sticks tonight. We were hard on our net, doing things right to stay out of the box.&#8221;</p>
<p>Berube will certainly be pleased to see his team generate a ton of offence in Game 1, especially given that one of the primary concerns going into the postseason has been the Leafs&#8217; lack of scoring across the board. But none of that would have mattered if not for the strong play of Anthony Stolarz, who shone in his playoff debut with 31 saves.</p>
<p>&#8220; Timely saves are huge.  We all know that, especially in the playoffs. They go a long way,&#8221; Berube said of Stolarz&#8217;s performance. &#8220; I thought he made some timely saves that were really important to keep where it was at and to keep the momentum going. So he was huge in that department for sure.&#8221;</p>
<p>Now that they have set the tone with an emphatic victory, Berube stressed that the Leafs need to keep their attention on the next game. There were plenty of questionable infractions that were not called that he could have taken exception to, but he instead highlighted the need for his players to stick to the plan.</p>
<p>&#8220;The referees and the league will look at things and make the calls they make. We&#8217;re not gonna focus on that, we gotta focus on what we need to do the next game,&#8221; he said. &#8220; I thought they made some attempts at our goalie and sliding into &#8217;em and things like that. But that&#8217;s not for us to worry about. We gotta focus on plan and we gotta focus on ourselves and what we need to do. The league will look after that stuff.&#8221;</p>
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<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> head coach Craig Berube highlighted his team's ability to withstand the physical onslaught as a key to their <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-pounce-ullmark-thump-senators">Game 1 win over the Ottawa Senators</a> on Sunday.
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The fifth instalment of the Battle of Ontario did not disappoint on the opening night of the series, with loads of physical play and high-intensity action. The Senators' lack of discipline was a major <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-toronto-maple-leafs-pounce-ullmark-thump-senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deciding factor in the game</a> as the Leafs converted on three of their six power-play chances on the night.

<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-berube-previews-physical-series-game-1-senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berube anticipated</a> that this type of hockey would be what his team was in for in this series, and he felt they handled the first wave well.

" We were physical in the first period. I thought they were, too. It's physical and it's gonna be physical," Berube said post-game. " I thought that we did a good job of controlling our emotions and playing through it.  You have to.  It's gonna be a battle, and it was."

The big guns led the way in battling through the onslaught of physical play by Ottawa and were rewarded for their efforts with some timely goals on the man advantage. The Leafs were able to neutralize the opposition's attack when it looked like they were going to generate some momentum and kept the pedal to the metal all night long.

Once the game got out of reach and the antics began to ramp up, Berube was impressed with his team's ability to not get suckered into the fiasco and allow the Senators any chance at a comeback.

"Penalties are penalties.  We're disciplined, we're gonna keep being disciplined," Berube said. " We're gonna play hard between the whistles the right way and keep being physical, but we're not gonna get involved in all the antics after the whistles or whatever.  Refs call games, they call penalties for whatever reasons. I thought we checked well with our feet and our sticks tonight. We were hard on our net, doing things right to stay out of the box."

Berube will certainly be pleased to see his team generate a ton of offence in Game 1, especially given that one of the primary concerns going into the postseason has been the Leafs' lack of scoring across the board. But none of that would have mattered if not for the strong play of Anthony Stolarz, who shone in his playoff debut with 31 saves.

" Timely saves are huge.  We all know that, especially in the playoffs. They go a long way," Berube said of Stolarz's performance. " I thought he made some timely saves that were really important to keep where it was at and to keep the momentum going. So he was huge in that department for sure."

Now that they have set the tone with an emphatic victory, Berube stressed that the Leafs need to keep their attention on the next game. There were plenty of questionable infractions that were not called that he could have taken exception to, but he instead highlighted the need for his players to stick to the plan.

"The referees and the league will look at things and make the calls they make. We're not gonna focus on that, we gotta focus on what we need to do the next game," he said. " I thought they made some attempts at our goalie and sliding into 'em and things like that. But that's not for us to worry about. We gotta focus on plan and we gotta focus on ourselves and what we need to do. The league will look after that stuff."
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Craig Berube credits Maple Leafs keeping emotions in check as key to Game 1 victory

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