Leafs' Carlo: 'Utmost faith' these guys are ready to take next step

Brandon Carlo was on the other side of some Toronto Maple Leafs playoff failures while he was a member of the Boston Bruins, but he believes the group can push through when it matters most now that he's in the blue and white.

"I have the utmost faith that these guys are ready to take the next step," Carlo said Thursday, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.

The Florida Panthers demolished Toronto 6-1 in Wednesday's Game 5 to put the Maple Leafs on the brink of elimination. The Panthers also shut out the Leafs in Game 4.

Toronto acquired Carlo from the Bruins before the trade deadline. The defensive rearguard has played 83 career playoff games, and has eight hits and 26 blocks in Toronto's 11 postseason contests this year.

The Leafs' playoff woes are well-documented. Since 2017, Toronto has made the postseason every year but has won just two series and hasn't advanced past the second round. Carlo's Bruins handed the Leafs three of their eight playoff exits.

Head coach Craig Berube believes the mental game played a role in Toronto's Game 5 loss, and he made it clear that the team needs to reset for Friday's Game 6.

"We overthink things," Berube said, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

"A loss is a loss," added Berube, according to Postmedia's Terry Koshan. "If we would have lost 2-1 and it was a close game, would it really matter today? We got beat. I've been in this situation before. We're all going to be down and dejected, but we can't be. We have to regroup."

Berube vowed the Maple Leafs will "be a lot better in Game 6," according to Koshan.

Toronto is still missing goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who has been out of the series since leaving during Game 2. Berube said the netminder is doubtful to travel to Florida for the must-win Game 6, according to Johnston.