Leafs Coach Craig Berube Addresses Conspiracy Theory About Maple Leafs' Health in Games 3 and 4

A sleepy effort from the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 not only wasted a brilliant performance from Joseph Woll, who posted a .946 SV% on the evening, but resulted in the Florida Panthers evening the series at two games apiece heading into Game 5 tonight.

After nearly taking a 3-0 series lead in Game 3, which ended on a lucky bounce after a shot by Brad Marchand deflected into the Leafs' net off of Morgan Rielly, the Leafs looked a step behind the Panthers in Game 4, which prompted some conspiracy speculation from Leafs podcaster Steve Dangle.

During a recent podcast appearance on his Steve Dangle Podcast Network, Dangle opined that the Leafs may be dealing with a team-wide illness of some sort that impacted their overall level of energy and effectiveness. However, on Wednesday morning, Leafs coach Craig Berube shot that idea down cold.

With a large-scale illness being ruled out, the most likely cause of the flat effort in Game 4 may be due to the team being a little banged up, as teams are during the post-season.

We know that Auston Matthews doesn't look quite right, having not scored since the Leafs' series against Ottawa. We also know that Joseph Woll has taken quite a few bumps, as have Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mitch Marner -- with the latter taking an elbow to the head in Game 4.

Hopefully a couple of days of rest has done the team some good, and that they'll have better legs tonight against Florida in Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena.