Craig Berube&#8217;s debut behind the Toronto bench in Wednesday night&#8217;s season opener against the Montreal Canadiens didn&#8217;t go according to plan, with the Leafs being shutout for the first time in 227 games despite firing 47 shots on goal. That set the stage for an intriguing matchup on Thursday night that pitted Berube&#8217;s Leafs against the man he replaced, Sheldon Keefe, now running the bench for the New Jersey Devils.
If there weren&#8217;t already enough interesting narratives built into this matchup, Dennis Hildeby making his first career start for the Leafs against the coach who refused to play him when the Leafs were in dire straits between the pipes last year added an extra layer to Thursday&#8217;s contest.
Following a frustrating offensive night against the Habs, Berube&#8217;s squad came out firing against the Devils, and it was the bottom six forwards who put the Leafs in the driver&#8217;s seat early on. The Leafs opened the scoring just over eight minutes into the first period, with Max Pacioretty netting his first as a Leaf after collecting a rebound at the side of the goal. Nick Robertson didn&#8217;t register an assist on the marker, but he initiated the scoring play with a strong net drive between Devils defenders before retrieving the puck down low and getting it to the point for Conor Timmins.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Robertson and Pacioretty were a duo on this one <a href="https://t.co/BFzaKnAI7z">pic.twitter.com/BFzaKnAI7z</a>
&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1844520581208617387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Leafs doubled their lead a few minutes later, this time with a goal from their fourth line. The Leafs&#8217; fourth unit of Steven Lorentz, David Kämpf, and Ryan Reaves were impressive against Montreal on Wednesday, and they were even better against the Devils with Bobby McMann stepping in for Reaves in the second half of a back-to-back. After a strong forecheck, Jake McCabe made a nice play to protect the puck at the point and get it to McMann, who quickly fired a shot that found its way through Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom.
A little over three minutes later, the fourth line struck again. Lorentz forced a turnover on the forecheck that allowed Kämpf to get the puck out front, where Lorentz was ready to pounce and backhand it into the top of the New Jersey net for his first goal as a Leaf and second point of the night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
LASER LORENTZ 🎯 <a href="https://t.co/y0UjxWqreh">pic.twitter.com/y0UjxWqreh</a>
&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1844523844213563811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Devils managed to cut the lead down to two with a late-period power play tally off the stick of Jesper Bratt, but that was the lone blemish in an impressive road period where the Leafs&#8217; new north-south style caused problems for the Devils&#8217; defenders.
John Tavares got the Leafs&#8217; stars on the board just under 15 minutes into the middle frame, taking a nice feed from Max Domi off the wall and putting Dawson Mercer in a blender before wiring a shot behind Markstrom, but another late-period goal for the Devils kept it a two-goal game heading into the final frame.
The Leafs were able to hold on in the third period, with Hildeby and the penalty kill coming up big on a couple of occasions to secure Berube&#8217;s first victory since taking over behind the bench this past offseason. Picking up that first win against Keefe and the Devils likely felt extra sweet for Berube and for Hildeby as well, but it was the way the Leafs earned that victory that will have the new bench boss in a good mood for the trip back home to Toronto.
Toronto&#8217;s big stars have led the offensive charge over the last number of years, and they will continue to do so, but all too often, they have been left with little support down the lineup. On a night when the Leafs&#8217; top two lines, led by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Tavares struggled to generate sustained pressure or a high volume of grade-A scoring chances, it was the bottom six that took charge and led them to victory.
Not only did Berube want to implement a new system on the ice, but he also aimed to instill a new identity in his first year coaching the Leafs, making sure that everyone on the team was pulling their weight and feeling like a crucial part of a winning lineup, regardless of their role on the team. It&#8217;s still too early to jump to any conclusions, but Berube&#8217;s first win with the Leafs was illustrative of that identity, as well as the depth the team compiled over the course of the offseason, and that combination could end up being a difference-maker for this iteration of the Leafs as the season wears on.

Craig Berube's debut behind the Toronto bench in Wednesday night's season opener against the Montreal Canadiens didn't go according to plan, with the Leafs being shutout for the first time in 227 games despite firing 47 shots on goal. That set the stage for an intriguing matchup on Thursday night that pitted Berube's Leafs against the man he replaced, Sheldon Keefe, now running the bench for the New Jersey Devils.

If there weren't already enough interesting narratives built into this matchup, Dennis Hildeby making his first career start for the Leafs against the coach who refused to play him when the Leafs were in dire straits between the pipes last year added an extra layer to Thursday's contest.

Following a frustrating offensive night against the Habs, Berube's squad came out firing against the Devils, and it was the bottom six forwards who put the Leafs in the driver's seat early on. The Leafs opened the scoring just over eight minutes into the first period, with Max Pacioretty netting his first as a Leaf after collecting a rebound at the side of the goal. Nick Robertson didn't register an assist on the marker, but he initiated the scoring play with a strong net drive between Devils defenders before retrieving the puck down low and getting it to the point for Conor Timmins.

https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1844520581208617387

The Leafs doubled their lead a few minutes later, this time with a goal from their fourth line. The Leafs' fourth unit of Steven Lorentz, David Kämpf, and Ryan Reaves were impressive against Montreal on Wednesday, and they were even better against the Devils with Bobby McMann stepping in for Reaves in the second half of a back-to-back. After a strong forecheck, Jake McCabe made a nice play to protect the puck at the point and get it to McMann, who quickly fired a shot that found its way through Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom.

A little over three minutes later, the fourth line struck again. Lorentz forced a turnover on the forecheck that allowed Kämpf to get the puck out front, where Lorentz was ready to pounce and backhand it into the top of the New Jersey net for his first goal as a Leaf and second point of the night.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1844523844213563811

The Devils managed to cut the lead down to two with a late-period power play tally off the stick of Jesper Bratt, but that was the lone blemish in an impressive road period where the Leafs' new north-south style caused problems for the Devils' defenders.

John Tavares got the Leafs' stars on the board just under 15 minutes into the middle frame, taking a nice feed from Max Domi off the wall and putting Dawson Mercer in a blender before wiring a shot behind Markstrom, but another late-period goal for the Devils kept it a two-goal game heading into the final frame.

The Leafs were able to hold on in the third period, with Hildeby and the penalty kill coming up big on a couple of occasions to secure Berube's first victory since taking over behind the bench this past offseason. Picking up that first win against Keefe and the Devils likely felt extra sweet for Berube and for Hildeby as well, but it was the way the Leafs earned that victory that will have the new bench boss in a good mood for the trip back home to Toronto.

Toronto's big stars have led the offensive charge over the last number of years, and they will continue to do so, but all too often, they have been left with little support down the lineup. On a night when the Leafs' top two lines, led by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Tavares struggled to generate sustained pressure or a high volume of grade-A scoring chances, it was the bottom six that took charge and led them to victory.

Not only did Berube want to implement a new system on the ice, but he also aimed to instill a new identity in his first year coaching the Leafs, making sure that everyone on the team was pulling their weight and feeling like a crucial part of a winning lineup, regardless of their role on the team. It's still too early to jump to any conclusions, but Berube's first win with the Leafs was illustrative of that identity, as well as the depth the team compiled over the course of the offseason, and that combination could end up being a difference-maker for this iteration of the Leafs as the season wears on.

Knee Jerk Reaction: Depth forwards lead Leafs to first win under Craig Berube

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