Reality is, the team was a mess to start the year, and were never able to find their games collectively. Last night was just another one of those games.
Majority of the team played very well, unfortunately think goaltending was their downfall. Other times Swayman is playing well and he doesn't get the support. Swayman absolutely has to be more consistent though, getting paid to be a high end 60 game starter.
Personally, thought the Ducks game would be 50/50 and Leafs would be a regulation loss. Having your top 2 dman, who play 50 minutes a game, and generally separately, that's a lot of high end minutes missing on a game to game bases going forward. Having just Lindholm out was rough, with both out it's hard to expect many wins in the future. The backend is really their only strength and it had to be healthy.
What we saw last night was a gutsy effort with the talent being put out there, and they'll need to continue that if they want to win games.
Only thing great about the loss, is Marner continuing to up his price. This guy could have another mediocre playoffs, and he won't care, he'll ask for the moon based on his regular season and 4 nation achievements. Making the Leafs overpay or let him go for nothing.
Unfortunately, something similar happened with Swayman, but it involved the playoffs. The second Swayman won that series against the Leafs, we all knew he was getting paid. That playoff win made him officially the #1 and a playoff series winner. Great to win, but believe it came at a price, that sneaked itself right into the next season.