New rule journeys up Simon Benoit amid Maple Leaf penalty woes

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Craig Berube’s campaign towards his Maple Leafs taking useless penalties goes on, however he lower defenceman Simon Benoit some slack on the primary of his two minors on Saturday night time. 

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Benoit caught as much as Pittsburgh’s Cody Glass, who was alone on the appropriate aspect attempting to interrupt to the web, and lunged to efficiently stick-check him, however when Glass went down, referee Dan O’Rourke’s arm went up. 

Benoit, Berube, the Leafs bench and the Scotiabank Area crowd had been furious. In the course of the ensuing timeout, O’Rourke went to the field to talk to Benoit. 

“I believed by attending to the puck first after which diving, it was positive,” Benoit mentioned. “However I assume the ref informed me they modified the rule. If I go away my toes and the man falls, that’s an automated two minutes. I wasn’t conscious.” 

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Berube had thought the tripping name was a clear defensive play. 

“I didn’t like the decision on Benny (Benoit),” he mentioned. “The opposite ones had been penalties (Benoit’s excessive stick on the finish of a game-long battle with Michael Bunting, Max Pacioretty’s hook and Bobby McMann crashing into Pens goalie Joel Blomqvist). We’ve to be higher. We will’t take these.” 

Benoit and Bunting simply missed one another enjoying in Toronto, the previous arriving final 12 months after new common supervisor Brad Treliving determined to let Bunting stroll as a free agent to Carolina. However as an agitating ahead, Bunting is the precise sort of foe a bodily defender equivalent to Benoit feels responsibility sure to cope with, though Bunting’s a grasp at drawing penalties. 

“He’s good at his job.” conceded Benoit. “I’ve performed towards him a few years now. That’s a part of his sport. I simply don’t like divers.” 

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The Leafs have taken 14 penalties by way of three video games, second highest within the NHL to Boston as of Sunday afternoon, and have killed 11 with the Penguins placing whereas Benoit was off for his journey. Benoit has 4 minors to himself. 

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However there are a bunch of zeroes in Toronto’s personal power-play column after three extra blanks on Saturday introduced it to 0-for-9. Over the past likelihood versus the Pens, Berube promoted Oliver Ekman-Larsson for Morgan Rielly on the level on the primary unit after Matthew Knies and Max Pacioretty moved up from the second unit with John Tavares lacking the sport resulting from sickness. 

After many recalled late coach Pat Quinn used to complain that his proficient Leafs crew tried to “cross it into the web” on energy performs, Berube repeated the exact same phrase this week in urging a extra direct assault on the goalmouth with photographs and rebounds. 

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“We’ve bought to simplify it,” agreed winger William Nylander. “It’s early within the season, we’ll get clicking, I’m not nervous about that.” 

“We will’t get pissed off,” added winger Mitch Marner. “I believed we did a greater job with entries (Saturday). We did have seems and second alternatives that didn’t fall our means.” 

LOOSE LEAFS 

The redesigned personal eating space beneath the stands on the bench aspect of Scotiabank Area is proving tough to barter, even for the gamers. Bunting was attempting to shortcut a fast post-game assembly with Marner and Auston Matthews, who had been ready between the rooms, however shocked them popping out the Toronto aspect of the brand new tunnel … Now that Matthews and Marner have handed Ron Ellis for sixth and seventh in Leafs profession factors (649 and 641 respectively), subsequent on the listing is George Armstrong at 713 … With Tavares out, Max Domi was 7-for-12 on faceoffs towards the Pens, Nylander 4-for-6 … The Leafs had Sunday off and can resume apply for Wednesday’s go to by the Los Angeles Kings. 

Lhornby@postmedia.com 

X: @sunhornby 

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