Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has preached the importance of playing north-south hockey throughout the year, and it’ll be a point of emphasis during Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.

After a lull throughout March, Toronto’s offence exploded in a 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday.

“If you look at the first period, and the predictability and the directness of going south, going north, putting pucks at the net, recovering them, not hesitating, moving it quick, shooting it again, recovering, we were on our toes and we won a lot of loose puck recoveries, a lot of shot attempts. We didn’t (go) back with the puck, we moved it up. We got to do the same thing tonight.”

Berube has emphasized a simple game for the Maple Leafs, but it hasn’t always translated into offensive success. Toronto ranks 14th with 135 goals at 5-on-5, while ranking 23rd in shots, and there’s been an over-reliance on the team’s top-six to generate offence for large stretches of the year. With the playoffs on the horizon, Berube and several players, including Anthony Stolarz, have spoke about the importance of getting back to basics, which ought to lend itself well to success.

Colorado presents a real challenge, with all eyes on Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the NHL in scoring with 103 points through 68 games. The reigning Hart Trophy winner could be in line to repeat this year, with his all-world speed and shooting ability always commanding the opponent’s attention.

“Well, I don’t know. But if you find out before the game, you can let me know,” Berube said with a laugh, when asked about the answer to solving MacKinnon.

“You just got to stay up on top of him as best as you can. It’s just like playing (Connor) McDavid. They’ve got great speed, they’re competitive guys with tons of skill. It’s about trying to slow them down. Picking them up in the neutral zone, trying to get on top of them, deny them the puck as much as possible, deny them time and space, it’s all the same things every coach does.”

Cale Makar is contesting for the Norris Trophy once again, and the Maple Leafs have often struggled to contain elite defencemen activating off the rush.

“Even more difficult. He’s obviously a great player, and again, it’s a lot of the same things: getting above him as much as you can and trying to make him work in his own zone. Tonight, we’ve got to make this team play in their own end as much as possible, and it’s important when that’s happening, that we get some good line changes and get fresh people on the ice, make them extend their shifts on the ice.”

In several respects, the Avalanche represent a blue-print for the Maple Leafs, boasting elite talent across the board that emerged together to win a Stanley Cup in 2022. It ought to be a high-octane game, where Berube’s principles will be put to the test.