Berube Has A Much Different Tone Following Maple Leafs' OT Victory Over Blues

It's been a tough start to the season in Toronto and a very disappointing November, chock full of injuries and inconsistency, which has driven Craig Berube crazy.

During practice earlier this week, the Leafs' bench boss even lost his cool, going off on a profanity-laced rant that lasted almost 40 seconds after a failed drill.

Berube is a competitor, and he appreciates players who grind and compete. With a 5-game losing streak, Berube's patience wore thin and his frustrations were shared outwardly. It appeared to wake up the team, though, as the effort on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues was much better than we've seen from the team in recent weeks.

Following a gutsy 3-2 overtime win, Berube applauded his team's performance, giving them their flowers during a brief post-game media availability. He even went so far as to say he's proud of his group.

The Leafs have moved to 9-9-2 after the win, sneaking back up to the .500 mark. Surprisingly, the team is still only 5 points back of the Atlantic Division lead. The bad news for them is that after a 4-5-1 run in their last 10 games, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning are 8-2-0 and 7-3-0, respectively, with the Bolts having a game in hand on the Leafs.

The Red Wings still lead the division at the quarter mark, owners of a 12-7-1 record.

For Berube's club, the hope is that a win is just the beginning of a real turnaround. The team, on paper, closely resembles a group that won the division last season. 5 points is not a lot to make up, especially once the Leafs return to full health.

Scott Laughton appears poised to return on Thursday, with Auston Matthews not far behind potentially preparing to suit up on Saturday against the Canadiens after missing a handful of games.

Matthew Knies, Anthony Stolarz, Nicolas Roy, Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo and Sammy Blais remain day-to-day, but if the Leafs can avoid any additional injuries, we could be a week or two away from a fully healthy roster for the first time this season.