Missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs and creeping closer to the bottom the NHL’s standings is unfamiliar territory for Toronto Maple Leafs‘ William Nylander, and you can tell the losing is starting to take a toll on the veteran forward.

The Maple Leafs visited the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, and unfortunately, weren’t able to keep up to the pace of the game, as the Habs jumped out to an early lead, using their overall team speed to push the Maple Leafs back on their heels, and eventually come out on top 3-1.

Canadiens’ Oliver Kapanen opened the scoring less than five minutes into the first period, and Toronto’s coaching staff tried to get the team to flip the switch, unfortunately, to no avail.

“There’s a message there to dial up our details, you know, get more engaged, start skating,” said Nylander postgame about Craig Berube‘s message from the bench once they fell behind.

Unfortunately, the messaging wasn’t enough as it didn’t translate to any results, besides a Nylander lone goal in the second period, on a nice give-and-go with Easton Cowan.

The Canadiens pace was something the Maple Leafs had troubles keeping up with. Nylander spoke about the immediate pressure the Habs put on them from the opening faceoff. “They were getting a lot of looks from the inside, slot shots, they were making quick plays, playing fast, catching us on our heels,” Nylander told reporters postgame.

“It’s a lot of losses in a row now, I mean, I think parts of all the games we’ve been playing, we’ve been playing snippets of good hockey. That’s not how we want to play, we want to play a full game of good hockey. So, until we trend closer to that, I don’t think it will be possible.”

The Maple Leafs lost their eighth straight, and are the only team in the league, who has yet to record a win since the Olympics. It’s gone from bad to worse, to now creeping closer to rock bottom.

From Stanley Cup contender just last season, to eyes on the NHL Draft lottery in less than a year. Life comes at you fast, and on Tuesday night, the Canadiens didn’t hold back against the struggling Maple Leafs, and Nylander and company didn’t have an answer.

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