Craig Berube slams his players after 'inexcusable' performance in Montreal.

Craig Berube is not pleased with the play of his Toronto Maple Leafs and on Saturday night, after an ugly loss at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, Berube did not shy away from letting the world know just that.

Berube was highly critical of his players following the loss, although he would clarify that his decision to pull goaltender Joseph Woll was due to the play of the team in front of him rather than the play of Woll himself, and he called them out for consistently refusing to play a full 60 minutes of hockey.

"Until we decide to dig in and play the right way for 60 minutes on a consistent basis it's gonna be hard to pull yourself out of anything," said Berube after being asked how the Leafs could break their current slump.

The Leafs coughed up an early lead to the Canadiens but Berube's focus was on how his team came out for the second while down in the game. Berube slammed his team for their lack of effort and pushback in the game's second frame.

"I didn't mind our first period... but I just don't understand why we can't go out in the second period and dictate how we are gonna play the period," said Berube. "That's the difference to me. They dictated the game in the second period, they put their foot on the gas and took it to us."

Berube continued by publicly challenging his team for their lack of heart, suggesting that his team tends to quit when facing a deficit.

"What I've seen a few times this year is when we get down a couple goals at times... this happens in the second period where we go out there and we don't play with any urgency or any confidence in the second period because we get down a couple goals," admitted Berube. "That's an excuse all day long for me, this is a veteran hockey team, it's inexcusable."

Berube held himself accountable as well for failing to break this trend that he has seen with his own eyes this season.

"It's on me too, it's on all of us, on a veteran team that shouldn't happen," added Berube.

The Leafs head coach ended his press conference by again calling out his team for quitting mid game, especially considering how many experienced and established National Hockey League veterans are on the Leafs roster.

"Can't lose all the momentum because they scored a couple goals," said Berube. "Like I said we are a veteran team and that is inexcusable."