The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the St Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday to snap a five-game losing streak. William Nylander potted the overtime winner, finally putting Toronto back in the win column. Maple Leafs head coach and former Blues bench boss, Craig Berube, expressed pride in Toronto for their win.
“It's always nice to end a skid. When I look at the team and everything going on with the injuries, it could have been easy for our guys to say, well, we're all banged up, we got nobody. I didn't get that at all. Our guys competed really hard. I'm proud of them.” Berube said, per Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun.
The Maple Leafs have been incredibly injured this season, and that continued on Tuesday. Matthew Knies missed the game, joining Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz, Chris Tanev, and plenty of others in the press box. Pair all of those injuries with a team trying to figure it out without Mitch Marner, and it has been a tough start for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs sit seventh in the Atlantic Division, with only the Buffalo Sabres separating them from the bottom. But this win could be the one that gets them started on the right foot. They host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday before a six-game road trip that could determine the season.
Matthews is not expected to miss much time, but has landed on injured reserve. Knies was a late scratch, but no information has come out about the timeline there. Stolarz's injury has been masked by solid play by Joseph Woll to start his season. There is still plenty of time left in the season, and Berube's pride in his team could push them to a winning streak. Can the Maple Leafs get back in the playoff race soon?
