Leafs coach Craig Berube takes aim at team after shutout loss to Capitals

Things aren’t looking too good in Toronto right now.

After a 4-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, which kept the team in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube shared his displeasure with his club during a post-game media conference.

When asked why the Capitals proved to be a challenge, Berube answered with a simple, “Ourselves.”

🎙️ | Craig Berube | Post Game vs. Washington Capitals | Dec 18 pic.twitter.com/hWz6tM9muv

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 19, 2025

“We had power play opportunities, power play was not good,” Berube said. “It’s got to be a lot better. And to me, they played with more passion than we did tonight. That’s what it boils down to. It looked to me like they had way more urgency in their game, more passion in their game. That’s the difference.”

When questioned why that was, Berube said, “Ask those guys, not me,” looking towards the Leafs’ changeroom. “Very disappointing.

Berube also criticized the team’s power play on Thursday night, with the club going 0-for-5 on the man advantage.

“Well, the power play’s actually been getting better, but tonight it was god awful, in my opinion,” Berube said. “I thought the other unit did some good things. They had a couple of opportunities and just misfired, didn’t go in, had some good chances. But our top unit didn’t execute, didn’t win any battles when they needed to, just couldn’t make plays.”

Berube was asked whether he thought his message to his team was getting through to them.

“I don’t think I’m concerned about that,” Berube said. “I mean, the message is the message. You know, they need to take it and go with it. But I’m not concerned with it, no.”

The Maple Leafs are 5-3-2 over the past 10 games, and are 5-8-0 on the road. The team has an overall record of 15-13-5 for 35 points, putting them just one above the Columbus Blue Jackets for last in the East, but just four points behind Tampa Bay for the final wild-card spot.

The Detroit Red Wings are currently first in the Atlantic Division with 41 points, while Carolina holds the top spot in the East with 46.