The Toronto Maple Leafs appear headed down their most grim stretch of the season after putting together some momentum to kick off December. The Leafs have lost three out of their last four games, and their win was a last-minute comeback against a Chicago Blackhawks team minus Connor Bedard. The latest was a 5-3 loss to the league-worst Nashville Predators that featured some unfortunately-timed goals against and another heavy ice tilt against them in the possession game.

Captain Auston Matthews was asked postgame about why generating offence has been such a challenge for the team, and spoke about the need to get a higher volume of shots on net to create more rebounds.

“I thought our process was better tonight, I thought we had the puck more,” Matthews told reporters. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting shots through, getting guys at the net and creating second, third chances, not just one-and-done opportunities. “It’s definitely something we can work on.”

The Leafs haven’t done a whole lot to show that they’re a playoff-ready team this season, and when you combine their overtime losses they have a record of 15-19. Despite this, there remains a thin margin between teams in the divisional races, and one significant winning streak could do wonders for their playoff outlook. Matthews believes that the process is improving and that they can use that to build momentum.

“I think the process that we had throughout is something that we can take and move forward with,” Matthews continued. “Some of the good things that we did do and continue to channel that, and just be better throughout a full 60 minutes of doing those things.”

Despite the rain cloud that appears to be following the team right now, Matthews insisted that the mood in the room and on the bench continues to be good and that he didn’t feel that the team’s energy was an issue in the loss.

“I thought we had great energy from warmups to the drop of the puck, throughout the game, even in the third period,” he said. “I mean, guys were chatting on the bench, lots of energy. That part of the game, the room can’t lack. We’ve just got to continue to bring that energy throughout the whole locker room and make sure guys are up and ready to play each night.”

The Leafs may have the benefit of a tight race in the division but the longer they continue to lean on that benefit, the further away it’s going to drift. It’s clear that the team is in a visible rut right now, but like Matthews said, it’s only going to be a harder path if the vibe in the room sours.

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