Are the Toronto Maple Leafs in trouble? Taking a closer look at their problems after going 2-0 down to Florida Panthers

The Toronto Maple Leafs advanced past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 19 years.

After falling in the opening round or failing to make the playoffs every season since 2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs leaped over the hurdle with a Game 6 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. All cheers and good times in Ontario, right?

Well, it didn't last long.

Just five days after captain John Tavares scored the biggest goal in Toronto's recent history, the Leafs are once again in trouble. Two games into their second-round series against the Florida Panthers, Toronto has gone down 2-0 and scored only four goals.

To make matters worse, the Toronto Maple Leafs actually led Game 2 by two goals in the first 5:10 of the game. The Panthers went on to score three straight goals to steal both games in Ontario.

"I think we're all disappointed," Ryan O'Reilly said. "Being down 2-0 is not what we want, but it's a long series. There's a lot of hockey left. We have to continue building our game and not worry. We have to self-reflect. We need to be better in certain areas. Win the next game and build from there."

Keep in mind, this is the same Panthers team that barely scratched their way into the postseason as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. But it is also the same team that just knocked off the best regular-season team in NHL history in round one. And a team that truly believes in their abilities despite being the underdog against any other club in the playoffs.

“We just work hard, we believe in each other, we believe in our system,” Aleksander Barkov said. “That’s all it takes. We come here, we have a plan and we do it as well as possible.”

Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really in trouble?

While the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to put to bed one of hockey's longest-tenured jokes by winning in the first round, what if they fall to Florida in round two? Is the season seen as a success? Or is it just another huge disappointment for hockey's largest market?

One thing is certain. The Leafs are in trouble.

Toronto Maple Leafs are down 2-0 to a red-hot Panthers team, they may have lost Matthew Knies long-term to an injury, they have all of the pressure of the hockey community right back on their shoulders, and they are just one loss away from a media explosion.