What Marner and Matthews said about Toronto Maple Leafs teammates after Game 7 loss

The Toronto Maple Leafs, in some ways, are just like the vast majority of NHL teams.

“There’s 31 teams that go home very disappointed and we’re one of them,” Toronto captain Auston Matthews said after the Leafs’ season came to an end on Sunday night.

In so many other ways, though, the Leafs have found ways to be anything but a normal NHL team.

Facing elimination with a loss on home ice with yet another Game 7, Toronto laid an egg and fell 6-1 to the Florida Panthers in another crushing defeat that has been all too common for Leafs fans.

“We were ready to play, we were in a good mindset pregame… I just thought we had too many passengers for the rest of the game [after going down in the second period]. We weren’t on the same page,” Matthews said.

“Can’t have passengers in a Game 7… we all need to be better,”  Toronto forward Mitch Marner echoed.

Asked about his feelings and thoughts on Toronto fans’ disappointment, Marner reflected that he was feeling it just as hard.

“Sadness. Depression. All of it. I’m feeling the same way… we’re not happy with that outcome either.

Just like what had happened in Game 5’s loss with the same 6-1 scoreline, there was a jersey tossed on the Scotiabank Arena ice in the closing stages of the game.

“Never want to see the jerseys on the ice, but we just didn’t play well enough,” Toronto forward John Tavares said.

It’s the team’s eighth straight winner-take-all loss dating back to 2013, with Sunday’s game being tied for the worst home loss in a Game 7 in NHL history.

“Clearly there’s levels that we’ve got to get to and there’s growth that we need to have, but we did a lot of good things in the series to come to this point and have this opportunity. Unfortunately we have to learn again,” Tavares added.

The Panthers advance to the Eastern Conference final for the third year in a row, where they’ll take on the Carolina Hurricanes.