Craig Berube didn't mince any words about why he felt his team struggled in Game 7 and other points in the Toronto Maple Leafs' second-round playoff loss to the Florida Panthers.

"When the game was going on, we lost structure a little bit and they capitalized on their opportunities," the head coach said at his end-of-season media availability on Tuesday. "I can't word it any differently than that. We lost numbers and gave up a 2-on-1, the other goal. We lost a guy going to the net, rebound, roll. So we lost our structured program, and cost us three goals, and now you're down 3-0."

After forcing a Game 7 following a 2-0 victory against the Panthers in Game 6, the Leafs came out flat in the decisive game on home ice. They failed to register a shot on goal for over 11 minutes at the start before getting things back on track later in the first period. That's what made the second-period performance from Toronto so disappointing.

Berube, a Stanley Cup winner as head coach of the St. Louis Blues in 2019, was brought in last year to replace head coach Sheldon Keefe. The bench boss hammered home a type of "direct" and "north-south" style of play that he felt would get a star-studded roster over the hump.

'Don't Get Caught Up In It': How The Maple Leafs Are Approaching Game 7 This Time Around After Previous Failures The Toronto Maple Leafs core players Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly will try to win a Game 7 for the first time when they host the Florida Panthers in their second-round deciding matchup on Sunday.

To his credit, the Leafs won the Atlantic Division, finishing with 108 points in the regular season. After disposing of the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, the Leafs jumped out a 2-0 series lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions, only to see Florida battle back and win three consecutive games.

The Leafs will undergo a lot of changes this offseason with forward Mitch Marner and John Tavares becoming unrestricted free agents in July, but there could also be a change at the very top with team president Brendan Shanahan overseeing just two playoff series victories in the 11 years with the organization. But for the players who are sure to return, Berube wants the loss to be a motivator as they head into the offseason.

'He Knows What It Takes': How Craig Berube Has Shifted The Mindset One Year After Being Hired As Maple Leafs Coach Exactly one year ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their head coach, hoping <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/we-ll-be-a-lot-better-maple-leafs-coach-craig-berube-urges-players-to-stop-overthinking-ahead-of-game-6-vs-panthers">his past playoff success would alter</a> their future postseason outcomes.

"For me the takeaway is yeah, it hurts right now. It hurts. So remember that this summer. Because it hurts and it takes a lot to win in this league from what we talked about with injuries and how hard you got to play and all that," Berube said.  "So for me, you know, a big takeaway is if you go home in the summer, you become tougher because you're going to need it for next year."

Berube noted that in big games, especially at home, the team sometimes "overthinks things" instead of trusting their structure and playing aggressively and that certainly caught up with Toronto, who lost moment after being an overtime away from going up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.