Fingers point in all directions when a team is struggling. But after the Toronto Maple Leafs lost their second game in a row, the criticism wasn't directed at Auston Matthews, William Nylander or John Tavares.

Rather, the blame went to a familiar name who is no longer even on the team.

"It feels like three Mitch Marners have left," former Maple Leafs winger and current NHL analyst Jeff O'Neill said on TSN's Overdrive. "It really does. It feels like three of them have left… there is simply not enough people playing well enough."

That's a bit harsh. And not entirely accurate.

After all, Auston Matthews is producing without his longtime linemate, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in the summer, having scored four goals and six points in seven games. So is William Nylander, who has picked up where Marner left off with 13 points (including a league-high 11 assists).

At times during Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, Matthews and Nylander teamed up together on a line, which could be something we see more often as the Leafs continue to search for a long-term solution to replacing Marner.

"It can't always be, 'Well, the right winger is not good enough. The right winger doesn't get it done,' " NHL analyst Bryan Hayes said on Overdrive. "Matthews has got to be better… We talked a lot about it leading into the season. How does he take on this challenge? A lot of people are starting to doubt him." 

Meanwhile, no one is doubting Marner. He's off to a great start with his new team. His 10 points in seven games have him tied for seventh in league scoring, while everyone around him (Jack Eichel leads the league with 16 points and Pavel Dorofeyev is tied with a league-leading seven goals) seems to be producing.

Comparatively, Vegas is the best team in the Pacific Division, with a 5-0-2 record, while the Leafs are 3-3-1 and tied for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Offensively, Vegas has averaged a league-high 4.29 goals per game. The Leafs are tied for fifth with 3.43 goals per game, which is an increase from last season when they ranked seventh with 3.26 goals per game.

Three Betting Odds Long Shots For NHL MVP This Season Three NHL forwards may be long shots for the Hart Trophy, but they could be just that valuable for their clubs this season.

But it is defensively where Marner's absence has really been felt.

Last year, he was one of Toronto's top penalty-killers, where he logged the second-most shorthanded minutes on the team, as well as the team's top defensive player, ranking third in the NHL with 56 takeaways. The Leafs have allowed a sixth-worst 3.57 goals-against per game, while also allowing 203 shots (12th-most).

In Tuesday's loss to the Devils, the team gave up far too many odd-man rushes, with New Jersey capitalizing on a 4-on-1 play on one of the goals.

"Our whole team, in general, is shooting themselves in the foot at different times in the game when there is no need to do that," said Leafs coach Craig Berube. "We didn’t do that stuff last year. If we lost a game, we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot; we just got beat."

‘I’m Getting Tired Of It’: Maple Leafs’ Craig Berube Losing Patience Waiting For Chemistry On The Matthews' Line Berube has had a rotating door of wingers on the right side of Auston Matthews, and many more took a turn on Tuesday with no success.

Of course, not everyone has been critical of the new-look Leafs.

Former Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who is now coaching the Devils, told reporters that Toronto's depth might have actually improved since losing Marner, because the team now has four lines that can do damage.

It could be that the Leafs just need time to gel with their new lineup, which has undergone a significant facelift from last season with the additions of Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli and Easton Cowan.

"It certainly is different," Keefe said before Tuesday's game against Toronto. "Mitch is such a dynamic player, did so many things and touched the game in so many areas. Obviously, they look different in the way that they are able to spread it around, get greater depth and change the identity of the group elsewhere."

We'll see if depth is an advantage when the Leafs play a doubleheader against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and Saturday. Because if you can't beat Buffalo, which currently has one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference, then Toronto's problems are probably greater than anyone imagined.

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