The Toronto Maple Leafs have gotten into the habit of struggling to begin games, with Saturday against the New York Islanders being the latest example.
The Leafs gave up 2 goals on 4 shots before the game was five minutes old and forced head coach Craig Berube to call a timeout to address the team.
According to Nylander, who was asked about the message Berube had sent during the timeout after the game, the message was a stern and simple one.
Nylander was under no misconceptions about the loss, appearing to agree with his coach that the team was just a little bit off on Saturday.
Despite another two-goal effort from Nylander, the Leafs fell to the well-rested Islanders 6-3, and did so without their captain, Auston Matthews, whose previously mysterious injury was re-aggravated in Friday's win over the Buffalo Sabres.
While it appears the Leafs have solved the issue of not getting any secondary scoring, the team now has to fix a more glaring issue - starting on time.
The Leafs have given up the first goal of the game in four of their last five games, in what has become a concerning trend for the club despite sitting atop the Atlantic Division, tied with the Florida Panthers, with 44 points.
With a full day off expected on Sunday, hopefully the Leafs will find a way to get off to a much better start on Monday night when they host the Winnipeg Jets for their final game before the Christmas break.
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