Leafs insist they're 'fine' as playoff demons circle after Game 5 loss
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The Toronto Maple Leafs missed out on a second opportunity to close out the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night and now the series will shift back to Ottawa for Game 6.
Toronto suffered a 4-0 in Tuesday's Game 5 of their first-round series with the Senators. The Maple Leafs were unable to find a way past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark, who made 29 saves in the win.
Dating back to 2018, the Maple Leafs are now 1-13 in their past 14 games with an opportunity to advance to the next round in the playoffs, but the team insists the pressure is not setting in after holding a chance to sweep the Senators just days ago.
"Everybody's fine in here," star centre Auston Matthews said. "The playoffs, it's a roller-coaster. It could be ups and downs. It's about staying as even-keeled as you possibly can and making adjustments when you need to."
“[We’re] fine,” winger Mitch Marner added. “It’s not supposed to be easy. This is never supposed to be easy. We knew it was going to be a challenge, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They pushed back the last two games.
"We’ve got to go into a building and play our best game. We’ve been a good road team all year. So, we have confidence in this group.”
Last week, the Maple Leafs took a 2-0 lead in a series for the first since 2002 and put themselves on the verge of a sweep with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3. Ottawa took Game 4 on a goal from Jake Sanderson with less than two and a half minutes left in the first overtime period for a 4-3 win.
Toronto's offence went silent in Game 5, with the power play failing to convert on four attempts and allowing a shorthanded goal to Dylan Cozens in the third period.
“We’re kind of forcing some stuff,” Matthews said. “I just think we’ve just got to get back to simplicity and outnumbering guys to the net, getting some pucks through and going from there.”
While the playoff demons are nothing new for the Maple Leafs, head coach Craig Berube is looking to keep them off his resume in his first season with the team.
“I’m not feeling anything,” Berube when asked about the team's history of playoff struggles. “I think our group tonight was focused and ready to go. I liked our start of the game. I thought our first period was good. So, I don’t sense that at all. We’re up 3-2 in the series.
“Stick with it. … It’s playoff hockey; there’s a lot of ups and downs. We need composure, I talked about it. We’ve got to stay composed and stay poised. And like I said, we’ll figure out some things and be better next game. That’s what it’s about. We’re up 3-2 in the series. So, we’re confident.”
Game 6 is set for Thursday in Ottawa, with a Game 7, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday in Toronto.