Auston Matthews blasts his teammates after embarrassing loss

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered one of the more embarrassing setbacks that they've had in recent memory, allowing the struggling Buffalo Sabres to score nine goals on them over the course of a 9-3 final score. It's especially ironic considering that the Sabres had just conceded nine goals themselves in their previous game against the basement-dwelling Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The good news is that sniper Auston Matthews continued his incredibly torrid scoring pace with a 1st period tally. The bad news is that he and the rest of his teammates are hearing serious concerns about their long term ability to try and build on last season's 1st round playoff triumph.

And Matthews did not tread lightly in his postgame media remarks, saying that it may have been the worst game that he's been a part of since joining the Maple Leafs as a highly-touted rookie in 2016. 

"Embarrassing is probably the right word to use from start to finish, top to bottom, not nearly good enough," he said. "Just a bad hockey game from our team. Collectively, probably one of the worst games since I have been here. It's hard to pinpoint one thing. I think it was all just disappointing."

The Maple Leafs have shown that they can routinely be one of the NHL's best teams when it comes to racking up points in the regular season. But they will be truly judged on their actual status as a team when it really matters, in the playoffs. New Leafs GM Brad Treliving has been feeling some heat of late for his offseason additions, which haven't panned out the way that many were expecting - especially with defenseman John Klingberg set to miss the remainder of the regular season schedule. 

Recommended articles:

• Two Maple Leafs return to practice on Monday morning.
• Maple Leafs lose Auston Matthews moments before puck drop.
• Auston Matthews says where he wants to play next
• Auston Matthews reveals cryptic message in Sweden
• Another significant issue exposed in Toronto ahead of tonight's game!