The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling in their playoff series against the Boston Bruins, and at least one Leafs player understands the fans' frustrations. Leafs forward John Tavares is sympathetic to the fans who booed the team after a loss in game four of the series on Saturday.

“You can’t blame them,” Tavares said, per The Athletic. The Leafs are now on the brink of elimination in this series, down 3-1 to Boston. The Maple Leafs lost game four by a 3-1 score to the Bruins.

Things seemed to implode for the Leafs in their game four loss, as several players were seen shouting at each other on the bench while Boston pulled away with the win. Leafs' winger William Nylander used profanity while scolding one of his teammates.

“Stop fucking crying bro…this isn’t fucking junior hockey” – Nylander
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“That's just the way we are. I mean, we expect a lot from each other, and we love each other. So, I mean, just to push each other, have a high ceiling, I think is great,” Nylander said of the exchange, per Sports Net Canada.

Toronto's season

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) skates with the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena.
Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

The Maple Leafs had such high expectations heading into this postseason, with one of the highest-scoring offenses in hockey. Only the Colorado Avalanche scored more goals in the regular season this year than the Leafs. The offense hasn't been there in this series, as the Leafs have dealt with injuries to winger William Nylander and other chemistry issues. Nylander missed the first three games with an undisclosed injury.

Toronto has leaned on its offense all season to pick up victories. The team picked up 102 total points in the regular season, due to the spirited play of Nylander, Tavares and center Auston Matthews. Matthews led the NHL in goals during the regular season, with 67. The Leafs lost Matthews for a good amount of game four, as he was taken off the ice with an illness. The injury bug is truly crippling the club at the worst possible time.

While the team has soared on offense this season, the defense is quite another story. Toronto has used three goaltenders this season to try and pick up saves, but none of them have given consistent play in net. The Leafs' three goalies have all appeared in at least 20 games this season, and the team's defensive stats have lagged other NHL clubs. The Bruins have exposed the Maple Leafs' defensive woes in this series, scoring seven goals in the last two games.

Toronto is facing a drought of more than 50 years since they last won the Stanley Cup, with the last championship coming in 1967. The Leafs are in danger of going home and must now win out in this series to keep that championship dream alive. Maple Leafs fans may be booing, but they certainly hope their team can get healthy and play well together again.

The pivotal game 5 of the Maple Leafs-Bruins series is on Tuesday.