MONTREAL — Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander delivered a terse assessment of the season to date, prior to the team’s morning skate at the Bell Centre.

As the Maple Leafs are mired in a seven-game winless streak, Nylander spoke about his mindset entering Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.

“It’s hard to really stay optimistic in this situation. Just trying to get a win tonight,” Nylander said. “It’s not going to help being frustrated. I think the mood in the locker room has changed a little bit. It’s made it a better environment.”

Nylander has been paired on a line with John Tavares and Matias Maccelli, as the Maple Leafs desperately need to find some offensive punch, as the season winds down. Toronto is positioned to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, while Montreal is one of the conference’s ascending powers.

“Montreal has always been a big rival game, so I think the intensity right away, and playing good hockey with the puck and making this team play in their own end, put the pressure on them,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said pre-game. “They’ve got some great skill over there, obviously.”

Joseph Woll is the projected starter for Tuesday’s game. Woll is coming off a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers, where he allowed five goals on 23 shots. Anthony Stolarz did not attend the optional morning skate. Philippe Myers is the other projected scratch.

Toronto called up forward Bo Groulx from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Groulx leads the Marlies in scoring with 27 goals and 50 points in 54 games this season. Berube indicated that he’s unsure if Groulx will play tonight, so Jarnkrok may remain on the fourth line, alongside Dakota Joshua and Steven Lorentz. Toronto will also roll out ‘the kid line’ featuring Easton Cowan, Jacob Quillan and Nick Robertson.