Craig Berube on the Leafs' lopsided loss to Columbus: "We were complicating the game... We were disconnected at times getting through the neutral zone"

"For me, we were complicating the game at times tonight. We got burned on it. We forced pucks when we didn't need to and turned them over. They came at us, and as we've talked about, they're a talented and good rush team. They capitalized on their opportunities. More than anything, that is what it boils down to. I felt like we were disconnected at times getting through the neutral zone. It cost us."

"We did a lot of good things with it tonight. Could we execute better? Yeah. There were some plays that we just missed on it, or they weren't clean enough. But it's not from a lack of opportunities or working to get them. We had a number of them, and a lot of attempts and shots on net. At the same time, as I talked about, we forced things at times when we didn't need to."

The Maple Leafs lost 6-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, dropping their record to 5-5-1. Turnovers and forced plays repeatedly handed momentum to the opponent, who capitalized on rush chances. Neutral-zone disconnection and lapses in positioning led to goals against. The team created offensive-zone time and generated many attempts and shots but failed to convert chances. Execution on several plays was messy or incomplete rather than due to lack of opportunities. Attention to detail, situational awareness and proper positioning were identified as areas needing improvement. A timeout was used to review a close goal that was too close to challenge.

Read at Maple Leafs Hotstove