Craig Berube keeps it simple after Maple Leafs win vs. Penguins: ‘You score goals, you win’

“I thought our game got better after the first one, the second one was really good,” he said. “We scored tonight, that’s the difference. It’s good to see Willy get one, and other guys, Max (Domi), get a nice goal. If you score goals, you win.”

Nylander was one of the stars of the show against the Penguins, scoring his first goal in 11 games and later adding an empty-netter. Playing him alongside John Tavares and Matias Maccelli on Tuesday, it’s the kind of performance Berube was looking for from the Swedish forward as he elaborated on what he likes about Nylander’s game.

“Bringing pucks to the net more than anything,” Berube said. “Open it up, drive it. Again, that line makes a lot of plays, which is good to see.”

Nylander finished the night with four points in total, with a feed on Maccelli’s goal and later a secondary assist on a beauty from Max Domi, who went coast to coast for his first goal since late October.

After the match, Berube praised Domi’s efforts and said he liked a lot about the 30-year-old beyond just his goal.

“He did a lot of good things tonight,” Berube said. “He had other chances that didn’t go in, thought he could have shot a little bit more. He did a great job tonight and brought a lot to that line.”

With the victory, the Maple Leafs manage to enter the holiday period with a good feeling. Berube joked that they will “have a better Christmas” as a result, and explained what they will take away from the win.

“I think our play was better with the puck, we just had to capitalize and tonight we capitalized,” Berube said. “So just try to keep doing what we’re doing and go at it hard. There’s always things you need to work on and fix, but it just gets you back to getting the confidence back and getting the puck back. It’s been a lot better.”