“The playoff demons appear to be back”: Leafs stars under pressure as closeout woes return against Senators in Game 5 loss, per NHL analyst 

The Toronto Maple Leafs were blown away by the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs first round at home. The Sens were able to bounce back from a 3-0 series deficit and now have a chance to tie it up as it heads back to Ottawa.

An ineffective power play, a short-handed goal and a solid effort from Senators' Linus Ullmark gave Ottawa the win on Tuesday. This gave the team a glimmer of hope of pulling off a comeback especially as the Leafs have a 1-13 record in games where they could eliminate their opponents in recent years.

Leafs reporter associated with TSN, Mark Masters appeared on the broadcast to speak about the Leafs' mentality. After damaging playoff losses in the last few years, Masters pointed out that there would be some level of concern in the team, especially with experienced players like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner who haven't been able to close out the series.

"It's feeling a little demony down here, Jay. The playoff demons appear to be back. It's so similar, it's incredible actually," Masters said. "It's not, because it's happened so much. A lot of talk after this game about how the Leafs had some good chances — they did not capitalize on those chances. Talk about the power play — has to be better. How often have we heard that when the Leafs have let these series slip away?

"...You can see it in the eyes of some of the players like Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews — they have been here before, Jay. The tension is rising in this series and around this Leafs team," he added.

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Craig Berube tries to calm his players' nerves after damaging loss in Game 5

While this is head coach Craig Berube's first season in charge, he must be more than aware of the Leafs' playoff woes. In the last six seasons, the Leafs have lost three Game 7s to the Boston Bruins. They also went down to the Montreal Canadiens in 2021 losing a 3-1 series lead and they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, having been able to win the series twice and failed.

Despite the record, Craig Berube remained confident and talked about needing to block the outside noise.

"It gets to the point in the playoffs where there is more noise," Berube said via NHL.com. "A lot of past stuff, which I hear around here. That's fine. That's part of it. "The only pressure they have is from their own teammates, in my opinion."

Leafs' Core Four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander will have to take the responsibility and put the series to bed in Ottawa as records suggest they desperately need to avoid a Game 7.