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‘We had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie’

‘We had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie’

Craig Berube on loss to Blues: ‘We had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie’

It was a listless performance, where Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll was clearly the best player for his team. Berube singled out Woll for his efforts, in an otherwise dreadful showing from his club.

“We had one player that showed up tonight, and that was our goalie,” Berube said post-game. “That is really what it boils down to.

“It’s very disappointing. I thought the last couple of games were pretty good, and we were building. As I talked about, we were staying competitive and playing together out there. We did not have that tonight.”

Woll was looking to make a strong impression against the Blues, his hometown club. During his youth hockey career, Woll played for the St. Louis Blues AAA program, before graduating to the U.S. National Development Team Program.
Berube previously called out Woll for not making a clutch stop, following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 20. Woll has clearly emerged as the Maple Leafs’ No. 1 goaltender this season, and he’s been under siege. Sportsnet’s Michael Amato noted that the Leafs have been outshot 300-162 during Woll’s past eight starts.

Leafs have now been outshot 300-162 over Joseph Woll’s past 8 starts:

37-13 (tonight)
43-18
44-14
36-26
34-27
33-18
40-28
33-18

#LeafsForever

This is perhaps the most outwardly disappointed Berube has been in his team all season. The playoffs are firmly out of reach, and the Maple Leafs have recognized this reality with eight games remaining.

“I am not going to sit here and say it is easy,” Berube said post-game. “But again, if you don’t have urgency and you are not competitive, you are just letting each other down. You’re letting that sweater down. That is the bottom line.”

Toronto resumes its schedule Monday against the Anaheim Ducks, a much anticipated contest considering that Radko Gudas ended Auston Matthews’ season with a vicious knee-on-knee hit during a March 12 contest. Gudas was issued a five-game suspension.

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