"End of this group" - Elliotte Friedman believes Maple Leafs' defeat to Bruins can spark major roster shakeup

In the latest episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast, Elliotte Friedman assessed the Toronto Maple Leafs' performances against the Boston Bruins.

Friedman dissected the team's losses to the Boston Bruins and emphasized the severity of the predicament.

"Like everybody else, I will concede that game four was a low moment, they deserved to get booed off the ice," Freidman said. "The fans who pay that much for those tickets had every right to boo them."

He also pointed out that the frustration among key players like Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander reflected the turmoil within the team, a rare occurrence for a group that has been together for several years.

"They've been together basically since 2016 and we have never seen this before from them. And to see it in this moment, there's only two ways to go," Friedman said.

"One is you just completely falter, you fall apart and you go down quietly, or two, you rally, And use it as a point where you come back and say, Okay, we hit rock bottom. Now we're going to prove we're on the way back. And there really is no other option for them than to do that. Because this is the end for this group."

Maple Leafs lose 3-1 to Boston Bruins

The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 4, bringing them within one victory of advancing to the second round.

Brad Marchand set a new playoff goals record for the franchise with his 56th, surpassing Cam Neely. He also contributed an assist.

The Bruins' goals were scored by James van Riemsdyk and David Pastrnak, while Toronto's only goal came from Mitch Marner.

NHL's regular season goals leader, Auston Matthews, missed the third period due to illness, while William Nylander returned to action after missing the first three games of the series due to injury.

Boston's Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves in goal, while Toronto's Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll split goaltending duties.