Previewing Maple Leafs vs Bruins John Tavares battles for the puck with Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle in front of goaltender Jeremy Swayman during the third period in Game 4. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2MDUyMDk3Mjg2NzQ0MDM4/usatsi_23133931.jpg] John Tavares battles for the puck with Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle in front of goaltender Jeremy Swayman during the third period in Game 4. Stop crying, bro. The Toronto Maple Leafs are down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series to the Boston Bruins. But Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares have only themselves to blame. This is a time when your best players have to perform their best. And while Boston's Brad Marchand has three goals and eight points in four games, Toronto's "$40-million four" — which will become the "$45-million four" next season — has combined for three goals and six points in these playoffs. Four of the NHL's highest-players are being outscored by one. No wonder the Leafs were reduced to yelling at one another and feeling sick during a listless 3-1 loss to the Bruins on Saturday night. Frustration is starting to seep in. It was a rare show of emotion from a team that was booed off the ice by the home crowd. This series isn't quite over. But with how ineffective Toronto's offense has been, it's starting to feel that way. Even Bruins coach Jim Montgomery can't quite believe it. "Very surprised," said Montgomery. "That being said, we didn’t think that if we allowed Toronto to score it would be a good series for us." The Leafs once had the No. 2-ranked offense in the league. They used to attack teams in waves. They made you pay if you took a penalty. But against the Bruins, the Leafs are 1-for-14 on the power play. So far, only the Capitals have scored fewer goals in the playoffs — and they've played one less game. Auston Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals in the regular season, has scored all three of his points in the same game. John Tavares has one goal. Mitch Marner has a goal and an assist. William Nylander, who missed three games with what was reportedly a bad migraine, was held off the scoresheet in Game 4. "Guys are trying," said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. "That's a good team over there that's limiting us. You can question a lot of things, but you can't question the effort." Whether the effort is there or not, the production hasn't been for the Leafs. Meanwhile, Marchand has at least a point or more in every game in the series. And David Pastrnak has a pair of goals and a pair of assists. "In the playoffs, you need your big-time players to make big-time plays," said Montgomery. "And they're doing it for us." Give Boston credit. The Bruins, who didn't want to get into an up-and-down track meet with the Leafs, have done a great job of what Montgomery called "protecting our house." When the Leafs have had opportunities, Jeremy Swayman has been terrific in limiting the goals. Still, the Leafs should be better team than what they've shown so far. That's why the fans are booing. That's why the players were seen yelling at one another. That's why there is so much frustration. "We expect a lot from each other," said Nylander. "We love each other, so we just push each other to have a high ceiling, I think it's great." As Marner said of a heated exchange with Nylander on the bench that was captured by cameras, "We're not yelling at each other because we hate each other." No, they're yelling because they are mad. They can see this series is slipping away and yet another early playoff exit is coming. And with it, probably some big wholesale changes. It's been six years with the Core 4. Longer, for just Matthews, Marner and Nylander. During that time, Toronto has won just one round. Eventually, something will have to give if the Leafs lose for a third time against the Bruins. "There's no point in being too frustrated, unless it's going to lead to a work ethic," said defenseman Morgan Rielly. "Obviously, you're trying to win a game — and we're down, so obviously there's emotion and guys are competitive. We're out there trying to win and when it's not going your way it can be challenging. If you're going to get frustrated, it just has to lead to motivation and work ethic." Who knows, maybe that emotional outburst on the bench will be Toronto's rallying cry. Maybe, like Florida did last year when they came back and beat Boston after being down 3-1, the Leafs will feed off the energy and turn things around. After all, the Leafs did make a similar goalie change in Game 4, with Joseph Woll looking sharp in the period that he played. Or maybe — and this is the more likely scenario — the cracks are starting to show. This hasn't looked much like a playoff team. It certainly doesn't look like a Stanley Cup champion. With GM Brad Treliving nearing the end of his first year, this looks like the beginning of a tear down. If so, we might be witnessing the last days of the Core Four.
