Craig Berube Calls Out His Team After Disappointing Loss to Panthers

Looking for home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs headed into their game Tuesday night with a motivated and hungry lineup who were expected to put up a fight against the Florida Panthers.

Fight, they did not, and it was a concerning sign that a Florida team not at 100% was able to take down the Maple Leafs (though not at 100% of their own) and if it's a preview of the first round; that's a pretty sad display.

Craig Berube wasn't too happy either, and just a short while after explaining if his team was playoff-ready, explained this game was very telling about their future and they need to turn it around quick:

They have the chance to respond against another tough opponent on Wednesday as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they will need to come out swinging because another apathetic performance could spell disaster for not only their home-ice chances, but for the playoffs in general.

The team will still be without David Kampf and Jake McCabe, and while those two being out against Columbus wouldn't be a huge deal, it certainly is against Florida.

McCabe is part of Toronto's top defensive pairing, and Kampf is one of their top penalty killers and better defensive forwards; their loss was felt throughout the game and stressed just how important they both are to the team.

It's hard to blame Joseph Woll too, as he did his best to stop the flurry of offense from the Panthers, but it could give Craig Berube some pause and decide that Anthony Stolarz should be the one to get the Game One start; but we'll see how he wants to utilize his goaltenders going forward.

The best response Toronto can have is to not only come out firing against the Lightning, but do so from the players who are expected to make a difference. Auston Matthews needs a game to break out of this weird goal-scoring dissonance he's dealt with, and who better than another division rival?

We'll see how the team takes their defeat on Wednesday night. Do they realize the error of their ways and come out fighting? Or do they tuck their tail between their legs and let the Lightning run rampant?