Confident Berard better defensively

By TIM WHARNSBY -- Toronto Sun
The Las Vegas odds makers could have had a field day with the Maple Leafs this season.

Who would have thought the Leafs would have the lowest goals-against average (2.06) through 22 NHL games?

Who would have thought Jonas Hoglund would be leading the club with 11 goals?

Who would have thought Yanic Perreault would be the team's leading scorer, with 18 points?

Who would have thought Bryan Berard, a minus-32 two seasons ago, would be tied with Alexander Karpovtsev for the club lead with a plus-10 rating?

"With Bryan, it's a pleasant surprise," Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn said. "I hope he takes some pride in that.

"Sometimes it's not an accurate stat because your best defensive guys play against the opposition's best offensive guys, especially the defencemen. But on a season-long basis, it's a good indicator."

Berard, 22, has indicated this season he is serious about harnessing his natural skill to become a game-in, game-out factor.

He probably is skating better than ever and has returned to the aggressive style he displayed during his 1996-97 Calder Trophy-winning season.

"I think it's due to my confidence and comfort levels," Berard said. "My defensive game is better than ever. Physically, I'm taking the body more. I got away from it for a couple of years."

Berard, who has one goal and nine assists for 10 points, leads the Leafs defence in scoring. But that's not a surprise. His plus-minus level is the shocker.

"It's nice to be a plus," Berard said. "But I think it's a team stat. It's a sign that things are going well for the team. The plus is a sign we have good goaltending. We have a lot of confidence in our goaltending."

Berard's only setback was missing training camp because of a contract dispute and a two-game suspension he was handed for elbowing St. Louis Blues forward Geoff Courtnall into retirement.

"I don't think missing training camp hurt me as much as I thought it might," Berard said. "Right now, I think I'm playing well. But I still have a lot to learn."

Still, Quinn and the coaching staff like what they have witnessed through the first quarter of the season.

"We think Bryan is improving on the aspects of the game he needed improvement in," Quinn said.

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