Matthews: Leafs need more pride after 'embarrassing' loss to Sens

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews wasn't happy with his team's effort following Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

The Leafs' drubbing at the hands of their provincial rival was their third loss in a row. The result dropped them eight points behind the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"Just bad, just fairly embarrassing to be honest with you," Matthews told reporters postgame. "We need to have more pride in our play no matter where we're at, no matter what the situation is. We just have to have more pride in our game, and we didn't have that tonight."

Matthews admitted the team is disconnected and lacking confidence.

"I think when you go through tough stretches obviously you can lack confidence," Matthews said. "It happens to anybody. We're going through a tough stretch right now coming out of the break. It's never fun to lose. It's never fun to lose in this kind of fashion, three games in a row. So, it's hard. It definitely wears on you. We just have to be better. There's no hanging our heads. There's no feeling sorry for ourselves. Everybody's got to look in the mirror and be better."

Toronto, which has 22 regular-season games remaining, is looking to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.