Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube didn’t mince his words when reflecting on the final minutes of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2-0 loss on Sunday to the Florida Panthers.
Max Domi, in the dying seconds of the game, with a loose puck along the boards, checked Aleksander Barkov from behind. A larger scrum followed, with several Panthers players jumping on Domi for the hit to their captain.
Domi was assessed a five-minute boarding major on the play and received a $5,000 fine by NHL Player Safety the morning after. At the time of publishing, no other fines or suspensions have come from Sunday night’s game.
On Monday morning, before the fine was levied, Berube gave his perspective on the Domi hit on Barkov: “Whatever. That’s League’s stuff,” he said. “To me, the (Dmitry) Kulikov hit on (Mitch) Marner was 10 times worse.”
‘Just Talking. That’s What He Does’: William Nylander And Matthew Tkachuk Chirp After Panthers’ Game 4 Win Over Maple LeafsChaos erupted as the final buzzer went in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday in Game 4 of the series.
What Berube is referring to is Kulikov’s elbow to the head of Marner during the second period. Marner, after looking dazed for a brief second, glanced at an official to see if there’d be a penalty called.
In the end, there was no penalty to Kulikov for the hit. Did Berube at least get an explanation as to why it wasn’t a penalty?
“No,” he smiled.
Toronto gave Florida six power play opportunities during Sunday’s loss, four in the first period alone. The Maple Leafs killed the first three penalties before Carter Verhaeghe scored following Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s delay of game call.
‘We Don’t Need To Take Those’: Maple Leafs’ Discipline Issues In Game 4 Killed Momentum In Loss To PanthersThe Toronto Maple Leafs managed to do what no team had done throughout the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs until their 2-0 Game 4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday… They took four penalties in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
It wasn’t Toronto’s best game of the playoffs; however, they’re going home with the series tied at two. If you like to look at things from a glass-half-full approach, that’s a positive.
But the Maple Leafs need to keep up with Florida’s pace and style of play. Toronto outhit (47-40) and outblocked (18-12) Florida in Game 4, indicating they can remain in the physical battles.
The toughest games are still ahead, though. The Maple Leafs need to continue showing they can stand up to the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
“We expected it, and I think we’re fine with it,” Berube said of the temperature rising in the series. “We’re handling it, we’re physical. I thought we were the more physical team last night.”
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