The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a great start under Craig Berube

It's a small sample size, but the Toronto Maple Leafs have many reasons to be encouraged by their start under new head coach Craig Berube.

The Toronto Maple Leafs opened the 2024-2025 regular season by splitting two road games. A 1-0 road loss to the Montreal Canadiens was followed by a 4-2 victory over former coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils.

After the mini road trip, the Maple Leafs won their home opener at Scotiabank Arena, beating Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Some unfriendly bounces from the goalposts and the outstanding goaltending by Samuel Montembeault, who made 48 saves to earn the season-opening shutout, prevented Toronto from starting the year with three consecutive victories.

The Leafs have issues to work through, but the positives gleaned during the team's start offer optimism for the future.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a great start under Craig Berube

Normally, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander being held off the scoresheet until halfway through the third game of the season would be cause for concern. Marner and Nylander got on the scoresheet against the Penguins and played significant roles in the win, but Matthews has yet to register a point despite being completely dominant in his minutes.

Despite leading the Leafs in shots on goal and posting a 67.6 CF%, Matthews' lack of production has contrasted his hot start to last year's sixty-nine-goal campaign. The team's early power play struggles have also contributed to his mini-drought.

Berube's preference for north-south hockey has not hindered the Maple Leafs offensive abilities, although firing shots from everyone is probably not a great longterm strategy. Toronto has always boasted strong advanced stats. This has not changed under Berube. Over the first few games, the Leafs have a 56.0 CF% and have dominated their opponents in high-danger chances by a count of 31-13. (All stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com)

The Leafs current, slightly below league-average shooting percentage is likely to improve as their star players heat up and Matthews has better puck luck. Offense should not be a problem.

Observations of the first few games reveal that the Maple Leafs are less likely to take unnecessary chances, especially while nursing a lead. The players have demonstrated a more direct, careful approach with the puck. That was evident as the Leafs protected third-period leads in back-to-back games against the Devils and Penguins.

Also noticeable under Berube is the team's focus on limiting the opponent's shots on goal. The Leafs have only given up five goals over three games. A big part of that has been players sacrificing themselves in front of their goaltender.

The Maple Leafs had 59 blocked shots through their first three games. That high number indicates the priority that Berube and his players have put on protecting their net.

Noticeable difference in player usage by Berube

Berube, like Keefe before him, has rightfully hitched his wagon to Matthews and Marner. They are both averaging over twenty-one minutes of ice time. It is elsewhere that the coach has made subtle changes.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson's strong start with the Leafs has seen him used as an option to try and ignite the team's first power-play unit. Matthew Knies and Matthews have been used more on the penalty kill, helping the team show a slight improvement in that area.

Berube also wasn't afraid to have goaltender Dennis Hildeby make his NHL debut against the Devils during the second game of a back-to-back. Playing in an NHL game will help the goalie's development and gives the Leafs options in the net.

The Toronto Maple Leafs still have issues to sort through such as their power play and the bottom-six forwards, but their start under new coach Berube offers hope for what lies ahead.