<p>Head coach Craig Berube was pleased to see Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alex Steeves rewarded with his first NHL goal during Saturday&#8217;s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.</p>
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<p>The Toronto Marlies&#8217; leading scorer has achieved just about everything you can as an individual player apart from winning the Calder Cup. Steeves has long been a force to be reckoned with in the AHL but never got much of a chance to prove himself at the next level with 11 NHL games played across four seasons prior to Saturday&#8217;s contest.</p>
<p>But, early in the first period, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-alex-steeves-scores-1st-career-nhl-goal-carolina-hurricanes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steeves finally found the back of the net</a> after working hard to make a play in the offensive zone. He initiated a strong forecheck that forced the Hurricanes to turn it over to John Tavares who was parked at the side of the net. The alternate captain sent a nice pass back to Steeves who fired home the one-timer from the right faceoff dot to open the scoring.</p>
<p>&#8220;He had a good game. That line was good. He did a lot of good things for us tonight. Very happy for him to get his first NHL goal,&#8221; Berube said to reporters after the game regarding Steeves. &#8220;He was hard on the forecheck. He plays a simple game. It is direct. That is what I like about it. He forechecked well with that line tonight. He worked hard. He did a lot of good things like that. And he has the ability to score a goal.&#8221;</p>
<p>Steeves certainly took to heart <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-explains-alex-steeves-needs-stick-with-leafs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what his coach asked him to do</a> if he wished to maintain his spot in the Leafs lineup for longer: he made the most of the opportunities he was given and was rewarded for his efforts as a result. The 25-year-old winger has always been confident in his abilities to carry his skill over to the NHL level and finally getting on the scoresheet <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-rookie-alex-steeves-confident-goal-scorer-nhl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaffirms his belief he has what it takes to belong in the best league in the world</a>.</p>
<p>At the very least, Steeves has earned himself another game with the Leafs right back at it on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.</p>
<p>“I mean, I think anytime anyone gets called up, you just want to make an impact,” Steeves said. “Goals are nice, and it’s my first. I am a goal scorer, and I know that. And I know I can be a goal scorer at this level, so, you know, just proved that with a nice one tonight.”</p>
<p>As far as how the rest of the game went, Berube had a lot to be happy with apart from the nearly three minutes in the third period where the 4-0 was nearly evaporated. He did his best to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-manage-matthews-marner-minutes-as-best-he-can-hurricanes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manage the minutes from everyone</a> to ensure they were as fresh as they could be for Sunday&#8217;s game. Even though Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were not far removed from finishing up a fun but taxing 4 Nations Face-Off, Berube trusted them to go out there and do their best to weather the storm with the Hurricanes pushing late.</p>
<p>The only thing the bench boss would have liked to see from his team was to be more assertive when defending the lead so that they don&#8217;t make it easy for their opponents to get into the defensive zone.</p>
<p>&#8220;I liked a lot of our game. We had a really good first and built the lead. They made a push in the second, but I thought we did a lot of good things,&#8221; Berube said. &#8220;The third period was a lot of the same. I thought we probably backed up a little bit too much in the third and let them come at us. We get the 4-on-4 situation, and they pull their goalie. They made it interesting there; they are good at that, and we have seen them do it numerous times. They are going to come regardless of the score and put pressure on you. I’d like to see our team a little more aggressive up ice, not backing up so much and letting them come at us.&#8221;</p>
<p>Berube and the Leafs will look to carry over the positive momentum into Sunday&#8217;s tilt against the Blackhawks, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.</p>
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Head coach Craig Berube was pleased to see Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alex Steeves rewarded with his first NHL goal during Saturday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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The Toronto Marlies' leading scorer has achieved just about everything you can as an individual player apart from winning the Calder Cup. Steeves has long been a force to be reckoned with in the AHL but never got much of a chance to prove himself at the next level with 11 NHL games played across four seasons prior to Saturday's contest.

But, early in the first period, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-alex-steeves-scores-1st-career-nhl-goal-carolina-hurricanes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steeves finally found the back of the net</a> after working hard to make a play in the offensive zone. He initiated a strong forecheck that forced the Hurricanes to turn it over to John Tavares who was parked at the side of the net. The alternate captain sent a nice pass back to Steeves who fired home the one-timer from the right faceoff dot to open the scoring.

"He had a good game. That line was good. He did a lot of good things for us tonight. Very happy for him to get his first NHL goal," Berube said to reporters after the game regarding Steeves. "He was hard on the forecheck. He plays a simple game. It is direct. That is what I like about it. He forechecked well with that line tonight. He worked hard. He did a lot of good things like that. And he has the ability to score a goal."

Steeves certainly took to heart <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-explains-alex-steeves-needs-stick-with-leafs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what his coach asked him to do</a> if he wished to maintain his spot in the Leafs lineup for longer: he made the most of the opportunities he was given and was rewarded for his efforts as a result. The 25-year-old winger has always been confident in his abilities to carry his skill over to the NHL level and finally getting on the scoresheet <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-rookie-alex-steeves-confident-goal-scorer-nhl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaffirms his belief he has what it takes to belong in the best league in the world</a>.

At the very least, Steeves has earned himself another game with the Leafs right back at it on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I mean, I think anytime anyone gets called up, you just want to make an impact,” Steeves said. “Goals are nice, and it’s my first. I am a goal scorer, and I know that. And I know I can be a goal scorer at this level, so, you know, just proved that with a nice one tonight.”

As far as how the rest of the game went, Berube had a lot to be happy with apart from the nearly three minutes in the third period where the 4-0 was nearly evaporated. He did his best to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-manage-matthews-marner-minutes-as-best-he-can-hurricanes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manage the minutes from everyone</a> to ensure they were as fresh as they could be for Sunday's game. Even though Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were not far removed from finishing up a fun but taxing 4 Nations Face-Off, Berube trusted them to go out there and do their best to weather the storm with the Hurricanes pushing late.

The only thing the bench boss would have liked to see from his team was to be more assertive when defending the lead so that they don't make it easy for their opponents to get into the defensive zone.

"I liked a lot of our game. We had a really good first and built the lead. They made a push in the second, but I thought we did a lot of good things," Berube said. "The third period was a lot of the same. I thought we probably backed up a little bit too much in the third and let them come at us. We get the 4-on-4 situation, and they pull their goalie. They made it interesting there; they are good at that, and we have seen them do it numerous times. They are going to come regardless of the score and put pressure on you. I’d like to see our team a little more aggressive up ice, not backing up so much and letting them come at us."

Berube and the Leafs will look to carry over the positive momentum into Sunday's tilt against the Blackhawks, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.

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