Maple Leafs get humiliated in dreadful Game 5 performance

Making matters worse for the Maple Leafs — this wasn't even a case of the Panthers stars beating them. 

It was Florida's depth players who came through as Dmitry Kulikov, Jesper Boqvist, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer were among the goal-scorers. All four of them scored their first goal of the playoffs. Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett also scored in the win. 

But perhaps even more concerning for the Maple Leafs is that this was another game where their own stars — specifically forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner — were complete no-shows when the team needed them most. This has been a recurring theme in the Leafs' nine playoff appearances with this core, and it is consistently one of the biggest issues in their repeated early exits. 

Since returning to the playoffs during the 2016-17 season, the Toronto core, led by Matthews and Marner, has advanced beyond the first round just two times. Including this year's wins in Games 1 and 2 of this series, they have won only three games in the second round. Matthews, one of the league's best goal scorers, has never scored a postseason goal in the second round of the playoffs. 

After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead, the Maple Leafs had a 3-1 lead halfway through Game 3 of the series and looked to be in the driver's seat for the series. After blowing it and losing in overtime, they have been outscored by an 8-1 margin. It is a 12-2 margin if you go back to the third period of Game 3. 

All of that is just simply unacceptable, and it makes Game 6 of the series later this week yet another potential legacy-defining game for this core. If they lose that game, or even a potential Game 7, in the exact same manner they have been losing these games with no-shows from their stars, there is no way this core can be brought back for another season. 

Marner and John Tavares are already likely to go as pending unrestricted free agents. It might not — and perhaps should not — stop there.