Maple Leafs stars admit that “the pressure is on” as new season approaches

For the 5th straight time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to move out of the opening round of competition. The latest disappointment came in the form of a 3-1 loss to the rival Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of their Round 1 North Division playoff series - and of course, that came on the heels of blowing a 3-1 series advantage. 

It's a rather sobering (and almost unbelievable) statistical reality that the Maple Leafs have yet to win a playoff series since the invention of YouTube. The last time they enjoyed playoff success? The rocking Game 7 victory over the Ottawa Senators at the then-named Air Canada Centre in 2004. 

Thanks to his historic campaign, forward Auston Matthews became the first Leafs player in 75 years as well as the first United States-born player in 24 years to lead the NHL in goal scoring. Unfortunately, that success wouldn't carry over to the postseason, as he failed to make any significant impact for Toronto during their stunning Round 1 series loss against the Canadiens, registering just one goal and four assists in the seven games played. 

"It's pretty self-explanatory," Matthews answered when asked if Toronto's most recent playoff setback was the worst he's experienced.

"It's learning from what happened," he added. "There's nothing that we can change now."

Of course, there are several new faces in the Leafs lineup this season along with several familiar names having moved on. For Matthews, that can be a good thing. 

"Sometimes change is good," Matthews said. "Sometimes you bring in new guys, and maybe we're missing something or maybe they just mesh differently."

Meanwhile, Mitch Marner admits that there is pressure on this team that has enjoyed the responsibility of having lofty expectations only to fall short when it counts. 

"Block out the outside noise," Marner said of the key for his team. "Make sure that we're not letting that outside noise and that doubt get into our mindset."

"The pressure is definitely on," Marner added. "But we can't let that get in our mind, we've got to realize that we are a great team, and that we do hold ourselves up to a high accountability."