The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their third straight game on Wednesday night, falling 6-1 at home to the Florida Panthers and placing themselves on the brink of another early postseason exit.
Head coach Craig Berube offered no excuses and didn’t let anyone on the team, including himself, escape blame for the loss.
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“Tonight, it wasn’t a good game for anybody. Anybody. All of us — was not a good game,” Berube said.
The Leafs were outskated, outworked and outshot from the start, with the Panthers setting the tone early and never looking back.
Asked to explain what went wrong, Berube pointed to everything.
“We just played slow … they were hungrier,” Berube said. “It’s hard to explain it. We all need to be better. Myself included.”
Florida opened the scoring late in the first period and piled on five more goals through the midway point of the third. Goalie Joseph Woll, starting in place of injured starter Anthony Stolarz, was pulled after allowing five goals on 25 shots.
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Nicholas Robertson was the lone Leafs player to score, 18 minutes, 54 seconds into the third frame.
“You can’t start the game that way; that’s a big thing for me. It sets a tone for the game,” Berube said. “I don’t have an answer for you as to why.
“It’s sports. Things happen.”

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nicholas Robertson (89) and Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt during a scrum.John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto fans booed the Leafs off the ice and began heading for the exits well before the final horn, with at least one jersey tossed onto the ice.
Berube refused to blame a specific line or player. Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev, however, took full responsibility for the loss while addressing the media after the game.
“I’ll take responsibility,” Tanev said. “I need to be better. If I’m a minus player, we’re probably not going to win the game.
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”It’s on me. I’ll take responsibility for the game.”
Game 6 is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday in Florida as the Panthers look to return to the Eastern Conference Final for the third straight season.
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