Toronto's loss to Ottawa was their third straight coming out of the Olympic break.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a precarious position after falling 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Entering the dressing room following the game, there was everything that you’d expect after a loss: disappointment, embarrassment, and frustration. However, this type of frustration is one this version of the Maple Leafs hasn’t faced before.
“I think that it's the first time in a long time — like the main group that's been here for a while — we've been in this position where we're out (of the playoffs) looking in,” said William Nylander. “So we've got to figure it out pretty quick here.”
Coming out of the Olympic break, Toronto was six points out of the final wild-card spot. They needed to reconvene after some time off and come out of the gate scorching hot.
Instead, they’ve now lost three straight and have been outscored 14-5.
In each of those three games — against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Senators — the Maple Leafs lacked jump from the outset. It’s the opposite of what you’d want from a team looking to grab hold of a playoff spot for the 10th straight season.
Now, more than ever, their playoff streak (which is the NHL’s longest active) appears to be fizzling out.
“Everybody wants to fight for a playoff spot. It's just we've got to figure it out,” continued Nylander. “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.”
In the dressing room following the loss, there was a lot of talk about playing with pride. Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews bluntly stated the entire team needs to play with more pride, with Nylander, Morgan Rielly, and Jake McCabe reaffirming the notion.
How, though, does a team come to that conclusion in game 60 on the season, when their playoff hopes are in jeopardy? And because this realization is coming so late, how does the team pick up the pieces with enough time to pull themselves back into the race?
“I don't think it should be hard (to reignite pride),” said Matthews. “I mean, it's an honor, like I said, to play in this league. It's an honor to wear this jersey. I mean, you've got to play for one another. You've got to play with pride each and every night. It doesn't matter what the situation is.”
Head coach Craig Berube, however, offered a different outlook following the lopsided loss.
“I can't give guys this (points to heart), or this (points to head). They have to come with that. That's got to be on them,” he said. “They've got to bring the heart and the competitiveness that's needed, and it's all the little things. They've got to bring that. They've got to want to bring that.”
While it seems almost like a forgone conclusion that the Maple Leafs will now miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the players aren’t giving up. Of course not. Their job, until the final game of the season, is to give the fans everything they’ve got on the ice.
Right now, though, it doesn’t seem like they’ve got much left in the tank.