Maple Leafs’ John Tavares received high praise from Craig Berube after a memorable night
The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently the second sports team in Canada’s largest city. It’s a position they’re not used to as Leafs fans follow their sport and team like it’s their pious religion. But with the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Maple Leafs they compete out of the spotlight. That situation doesn’t bother veteran John Tavares. The Maple Leafs center scored a goal in overtime on Saturday to clinch a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
The goal was the 499th of Tavares’ career. He added an assist on his game-winner and is off to a great start this season. The veteran center has 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points this season, and is second on the team in scoring to William Nylander.
Victory is allowed the Maple Leafs to move into a tie for 4th place in the Atlantic Division with the Sabres. Both teams have a 4-4-1 record through the first nine games of the season.
Toronto coach Craig Berube was thrilled to see Taveras score the game-winning goal. He was consistent and reliable, and the Leafs coach was happy to see Taveras almost reach a crucial milestone in the deciding game.
“You don’t really have to train him. He’s so professional and dedicated,” Berube said.
Maple Leafs depending on the strength in the middle
The Maple Leafs were a great team in the regular season, but have struggled in the postseason. They haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs in recent years. Berube is trying to put together a tighter team that can compete in low-scoring defensive games.
Berube depends Auston Matthews and Tavares to give the team strength in the middle. Few teams in the league have the strength at center on the first and second lines that the Maple Leafs employ.
The key to their long-term success is their defense. They need goaltenders Anthony Stolar and Joseph Wall to show their reliability every game.
2025-10-26 01:46:00
