Craig Berube Blasts Team Following Disappointing Loss to Sharks

As Toronto missed out on a critical win over the San Jose Sharks, they still managed to salvage a point in the 6-5 shootout loss. It's the second time the Sharks have dispatched of the Maple Leafs, and it's not a good look heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The team couldn't find an answer all night, and even though they potted five goals it still wasn't enough. Craig Berube was not impressed with his team's effort and called them out, leaving no player out of the criticism:

It certainly won't be good enough to beat teams like Florida and Tampa Bay, and the staunch goaltending seemed to have taken a backseat to the play of previous seasons, and the defense cannot give up so many opportunities.

The team needs to tighten things up and also prevent so many shots from getting toward the net.

This current defense is meant to block shots and do as much damage control as possible, and it's up to guys like Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit; who both went minus-2 against a very weak Sharks team.

One positive the Maple Leafs can take away from the game is that Scott Laughton finally got the monkey off his back and scored his first goal with the team since coming over at the deadline, but to him; the win needed to be secured much more than a first goal.

Berube's squad will look to bounce back against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night as Toronto continues their California road trip, but don't expect teams to ease off the gas, especially LA, who is second in the Pacific Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference.

The team is going to need to come out playing like they did against Philadelphia and keep hounding the Kings for a full 60 minutes. If not, it's going to be a rough ride home with a hungry and vicious Florida team waiting for them upon returning.