"I have to give them credit for that": Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube lauds opponents Vancouver Canucks' one specific defensive aspect after shutout loss

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered a disappointing 3-0 shutout loss against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. The loss dropped the Leafs' record to 27-15-2 on the season as they've now lost two in a row and been shut out for the third time this campaign.

After the game, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube praised the Canucks' defensive play, specifically their ability to block shots and clog up the middle of the ice.

"I mean they clogged it up pretty good, you know, I got to give them credit for that, you know, they did a good job of protecting the middle of the ice. But we got to find a way to genrate shots and get them through and have more traffic here," Berube said (per NHL.com).

Brock Boeser opened the scoring for the Canucks within 31 seconds into the first period, deflecting Tyler Myers' point shot. At the end of the second period, Quinn Hughes made it 2-0 for the Canucks when he forced a point shot off Simon Benoit of Toronto into the net with his own stick.

Kiefer Sherwood sealed the victory early in the third period, converting a no-look drop pass from Hughes with a high glove-side shot just 47 seconds in.

"I didn’t think that we won any of the rebound battles like, there were times that we just missed bounce, didn’t go our way, you know, that's basically I think what the game boiled down to." the coach explained.

Kevin Lankinen recorded the shutout for the Canucks with 20 saves. The Toronto Maple Leafs' Dennis Hildeby stopped 15 shots in the loss.

Craig Berube discusses Toronto Maple Leafs power play struggles

The Leafs managed only two shots on their three power play opportunities. The coach noted that the lack of momentum-generating opportunities on the power play was a significant factor in the loss.

"We didn’t get anything going on our power play, which could’ve given us momentum in the game."Berube said.

"We have to move the puck. We didn’t move the puck well enough tonight. I didn’t think we were connected well enough on breakouts or in the neutral zone. It was just slow."

Next, the Toronto Maple Leafs will try to bounce back against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at home.