The Toronto Maple Leafs are riding the high of putting in the work and earning an impressive win over the NHL's best Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. How did they exactly do it? The head coach spills the beans.
It was a performance that was highlighted by William Nylander's outstanding overtime game-winner but at the root of it all, was a team that was willing to scratch and claw back from multiple goals against to prove that they belong in the playoff conversation.
Craig Berube says exactly how the Leafs got the impressive win
But, according to head coach Craig Berube, it was also one very specific thing that made the game work at its core.
"For me, it is puck management," Berube said during his post-game media availability. "I thought our puck management was really good tonight. We made really good decisions with it. We moved it well. We kept our shifts short. We talked about how it is important to keep your shifts short here, and the guys did a really good job of it."
The Leafs did look a whole lot more thoughtful with the puck on their stick. No terrible low-percentage plays or just having it dribble off their blade under the slightest bit of pressure from the opposing team -- just real, smart hockey.
And Toronto needed to be smart with what chances they were able to have. The game finished with the Avalanche ahead in the shot counter 34-32, but underneath the hood, they actually had a sizeable advantage in shot attempts, 71-54, and even more in the high-danger chances, 12-5. The Leafs needed to take advantage with what they were given and they thankfully did.
Bobby McMann turns on the jets for the breakaway beauty 💨 pic.twitter.com/sG3E1Lcv9u
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 13, 2026
Bobby McMann led the charge with six shots on goal and a wonderful goal off the rush to tie the game 2-2, but it was truly a team-wide effort as eight Leafs had at least two shots on goal and seven of them had four or more shot attempts. They were firing but it was the high-octane Avalanche that more than kept up with that.
Thankfully, the Leafs don't have to face the NHL's best team every single night so having this gutsy win should push their winning momentum even further. Toronto is 8-0-2 in their last 10 games and now visit the Utah Mammoth Tuesday night.