The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be running out of answers at the worst possible time. Their loss on Saturday reinforced the current state of this team and set the reality for the Maple Leafs' management staff. Toronto dropped another crucial game Saturday night, despite falling behind in the second period and never truly recovering in a performance that reflected a team searching for its confidence.
The Maple Leafs entered the night knowing the importance of every game; however, they were unable to match their opponents' urgency. The Senators dominated from the beginning. Even though the Maple Leafs took an early lead, they were never able to build on it and push the play. They managed to stay within reach on the scoreboard for parts of the game, but the overall pace and execution simply were not there.
Auston Matthews and William Nylander's comments postgame
“Just bad, just fairly embarrassing, to be honest with you,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said postgame. “It's just not the way. We need to have more pride in our play, no matter where we're at, no matter what the situation is. We just have to have more pride in our game, and we didn't have that tonight”.
William Nylander added on to this, expressing his frustration, but despite this, nobody on the team is giving up, and their focus remains to get into the postseason. “I don't think anybody is quitting in the locker room. I mean, everybody wants to be in the playoffs,” Nylander said. “I think right now we're just disconnected, not finding our game. It's a lot of pressure to want to find that game within the game, and then I think we get more disconnected. I mean, nobody's quitting." “Everybody wants to fight for a playoff spot. It's just we've got to figure it out. We’ve had three games here. It's still not impossible, but we've got to play a lot better hockey if we want to be there.”
Concerning trends for the Maple Leafs
What can be seen as more concerning for the Maple Leafs is their recent trend. Since returning from the Olympic break, the Leafs have started every game slowly, while letting their opponents dictate the play. This has had the Leafs trailing behind in every game from the get-go. When they play strong teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning, they are unable to survive the initial push, and use momentum from big saves to drive the play into the other zones. The Leafs become shelled and don't know how to get themselves out of the early hole. They have to wait for their opponents to make mistakes rather than forcing their opponents to make those mistakes.
Toronto will have a large uphill climb as they try and get back within a playoff spot. They hold the 11th-worst record in the NHL, and have their nine-year consecutive playoff streak in jeopardy as the season winds down. Confidence, which was once a strength of this roster, now seems to be the issue. The Maple Leafs will need to be one of the hottest teams in the NHL down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs.