Berube says Panthers 'wanted it more' as Leafs’ grip on Atlantic loosens
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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be battling to continue to stand alone atop the Atlantic Division against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
The Lightning are just two points back of Toronto with the two teams equal in games played after the Maple Leafs suffered a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
The Panthers sit four points back of the Maple Leafs with one more game played and gained some much-needed breathing room on the Ottawa Senators, who are in a wild-card spot, by snapping a five-game winless skid. The Panthers are now four points ahead of the Senators, who lost 5-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday but still clinched a playoff spot.
“They wanted it more than us,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of the Panthers. “It started in the faceoff circle, and they are at 71 per cent tonight. To me, it comes down to competitiveness and digging in. Seemed like they were a more desperate team."
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Maple Leafs and cost the team an opportunity to secure home-ice advantage in the first-round of the postseason.
“We needed to win a game because we played pretty well here in this stretch, just haven’t had much go our way,’’ Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “Through two periods, it looked like those games where we just weren’t finishing around the net. I thought we played a smart game, played true to the identity. We did what we needed to do to win.”
The loss leaves the Maple Leafs within striking distance of the Lightning as Toronto pursues its first-ever Atlantic Division title.
It's unclear whether the team will come out with a different attitude Wednesday after winger Matthew Knies called out the team's physicality after Tuesday's loss.
“We tried to push back, but I think we didn’t do a good enough job," Knies said. "I think our physicality… we were a little bit soft in some areas and not (pushing) through the full 60. So, we’re gonna have to learn to do that when it comes to playoff time."
The Lightning are currently on track to face the Panthers in the first round, but a win Wednesday will set up a four-game sprint for the division title.
“We’re all hungry and eager to prove that this game was just a fluke," Knies added. "And I think we can do a lot better. We want to prove that (against the Lightning).”