Maple Leafs lament another Round 1 loss: 'Hard to fathom'

Another year, another first-round exit for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Saturday's Game 7 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning marked the sixth consecutive campaign that the Maple Leafs were ousted in the opening round of the postseason.

Core members Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly have been a part of all of them. Captain John Tavares has been around for the last four.

Was this year any different? The Leafs were heavily favored in 2020 and 2021 against subpar regular-season teams, but 2022 found them pitted against the two-time defending champions.

"The feeling is the same, the outcome is the same," Rielly told reporters postgame, per David Alter of The Leafs Nation. "Whether it's different, that's going to take some time to figure out."

The loss does sting more for head coach Sheldon Keefe, who's been at the helm for the last three first-round exits.

"Yeah, it does feel different," he said. "This hurts a little more. This is a good team that played really hard."

The Leafs set a franchise record with 115 points during the regular season - good for fourth-best in the NHL. They laid it all out on the line against the Lightning, but is there anything they could've done differently?

"It's obviously hard to explain," Tavares said. "Hard to fathom, especially with the opportunities we had these last two games."

Toronto had two chances to close out the series after winning Game 5 but failed to put the dagger in Tampa Bay. The Leafs lost 4-3 in overtime in Game 6 before falling 2-1 in Game 7. Matthews knows just how close they came.

"We're right there, we're right there," Matthews said, per TSN's Chris Johnston.

An emotional Marner explained a sentiment all Maple Leafs fans can understand.

"We're getting sick and tired of feeling like this," Marner said as he held back tears.