Leafs captain John Tavares visibly frustrated with his team in loss to Vegas

The Leafs didn't bring their best effort to Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, but by no means was the game a complete runaway, even though the scoreboard says it was. The Leafs were in the game right until the late stages of the 3rd period, but there was a point at the end of the 2nd period where captain John Tavares had completely lost his cool.

After the Leafs had cut the lead to one late in the 2nd period, a miscommunication between John Tavares and T.J. Brodie, and no immediate support for the captain, led to a giveaway in the Leafs' own zone, which resulted in a William Karlsson goal with under a minute left to allow Vegas to rebuild a two-goal cushion. Tavares was absolutely furious.

The usually calm and stoic Tavares losing his cool like that is very uncommon, so when it does happen, you know he's livid. Obviously, I'm sure he blames himself for the giveaway, but he also must not have been too happy with the miscommunication with Brodie and the lack of anyone around to support him as he battled for possession below the goal line.

It's a long season and frustrations can build, for sure. It's also possible that Tavares is battling an injury of some sort right now that is preventing him from playing at the top of his game, which may also be frustrating for him. At any rate, the Leafs won't have much time to stew on this one, as they're right back at it tomorrow night with the Arizona Coyotes coming to town. The hope is that they can pick up the two points and perhaps set up another lengthy win streak to chip away at the lead that the Panthers and Bruins hold in the Atlantic Division at the moment.