The Toronto Maple Leafs had their worst performance of the season against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, losing 3-0 at home. Toronto’s collective effort level was rightfully questioned after the game, and Maple Leafs forward John Tavares did not shy away from disappointment.

Tavares spoke to reporters after Tuesday’s game and did not hold back from giving his own assessment.

“We really got off our game,” Tavares said post-game. “I think they got some legs early, our legs weren’t very good. We didn’t manage the game very well, so we kept doing it. We just moved away from what brought us success. Disorganized, we failed to gain any momentum throughout the night.

“We must be disappointed. We could say we can wash it down but I think it’s disappointing. The way we’ve been playing over the last week. Good chance to build on that in a few days, it was a good day of work yesterday. Division rivals. I think it’s good for us, we’ll be right back tomorrow.” “We can come back, but tonight is definitely disappointing.”

The Senators scored with less than a minute to go when William Nylander turned the puck over to Ottawa’s blue line, and Senators forward Josh Norris passed Maple Leafs starter Anthony Stolarz 41 seconds into the game, and the Maple Leafs never recovered.

Tavares was quick to point out that bad starts are inevitable throughout the regular season, but the team needs to focus on paying attention to details.

“I mean, it’s 82 games, sometimes a team scores early and you know how to react to that. I thought we did a pretty good job in the season of staying with our game, building momentum, finding ways to turn the tide and keep the game going. “Like I said, start to get some rhythm and connect from shift to shift, but tonight wasn’t even close.”

While Berube shuffled the deck by demoting Max Domi during the game, Tavares found himself with Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies against the Senators. Berube tried to create a spark for the Maple Leafs offense but unfortunately his effort level wasn’t where it needed to be.

“We are lost. “They wanted this more than us, this is the result.”

It’s been a quick turnaround for Berube, Tavares and co, as the Maple Leafs bounce right back on Wednesday. Toronto finished the second half of their back-to-back with a 10-4-0 visit to the Washington Capitals.