Post-game comments from Leafs captain Auston Matthews show complacency with losing

The Toronto Maple Leafs should have come away with the 2 points in last night's game against the Nashville Predators. While both teams are struggling in the standings, the Leafs' firepower looked better on paper, but unfortunately for them, games are decided on the ice.

It was a close game all throughout before Steven Stamkos added an insurance marker into the empty net with over 3 minutes left to play. Bobby McMann brought them back to within one goal, but it was too little too late.

After the game, captain Auston Matthews looked to get ahead of the questions that would be posed, especially after Thursday's performance, and believed that they're doing the right things, but the results aren't showing yet.

Matthews was content with their effort on Saturday, even in a loss. The fact that the team's efforts didn't lead to any points in the standings, though, is the problem. His apparent complacency with the loss is frustrating.

While he was applauding their efforts, the Leafs were a little overwhelmed against the Predators. They were outshot 34-22 and only had 14 shots through the first 2 periods. Additionally, Matthews, Matthew Knies, William Nylander, and John Tavares combined for 1 goal and a minus-10 rating.

Unfortunately, things look a little more bleak than his comments would suggest. While it's still a tad early to start scoreboard watching and following the standings, the Leafs are second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and dead last in the Atlantic Division. They need to jump over a lot of teams to get into the playoffs, and that in and of itself is concerning.

Things only get harder tonight when they have to play the Dallas Stars, who are currently 2nd best in the league with a 24-7-5 record, and are led by 3 players with 40+ points. If they play against the Stars with the same level of effort we saw last night, it's going to be a long night, and an even longer flight home, down 0-3 on their road trip.