There was frustration in the air on Saturday night after the Toronto Maple Leafs fell 6-3 to the Edmonton Oilers in a game full of defensive errors and miscues. After the game, Craig Berube spoke directly with the team’s leadership group, needing to see them step up and take control of the team in response to the tough loss.

On Tuesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take, Nick Alberga sat down with veteran defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for an exclusive interview following the loss to the Oilers. Ekman-Larsson spoke on the sentiment in the locker room after the game and what they heard from their coach.

“I think the message was pretty straightforward,” he said. “Chief is a straight shooter and I think everybody knows that we win as a team, we lose a team. We’re a veteran team. I think everybody needs to chip in and be better, that’s the bottom line. We’re not pointing fingers at anybody, we know everybody needs to help out and be a team guy and just man up and play better. I think that’s what it comes down to.

Through the dismal start to this season, there’s been questions on who’s to blame, but ultimately the whole team needs to step up right now, beginning with the veterans. After Saturday night’s game, Morgan Rielly and Scott Laughton called out Toronto’s inability to execute through a full 60 minutes, and Ekman-Larsson addressed that issue with Alberga.

“We’ve been playing some good hockey over the last 10 games here, getting some points, but it seems like the last two third periods have been not good enough,” he said. “And before that, it was kind of the second periods that were really bad. Figured it out a little bit, but we gotta be better. We gotta be able to play good for 60 minutes, that’s what it comes down to. We’re making some bad reads out there.”

Against the Oilers, three unanswered goals in the third period allowed the game to slip away from the Leafs, just as the San Jose Sharks’ late marker in the final frame cost Toronto a win two nights prior. But as Ekman-Larsson mentioned, earlier this season it was the team’s second period efforts that were costing them key points. Heading into the new year, it’s up to the Maple Leafs to show they’re hearing Berube’s message and come ready to play a full 60 minutes nightly.

Listen to Nick Alberga’s full interview with Ekman-Larsson here and be sure to tune into Leafs Morning Take weekdays at 11am!

Introducing Off The Roster—Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favourite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster dives into the city’s legendary plays, brutal trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets, and everything in between. Raw, fun, and totally unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Tune in live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channel, or catch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founding partner, PROLINE. Off The Roster—the new sound in the 6ix.