Just over a week ago, Sheldon Keefe's Toronto Maple Leafs were fresh off exorcising their demons by advancing past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades.

They did that by defeating the most dominant hockey team of the last three years in the Tampa Bay Lightning. There was new hope for the world's most scrutinized hockey team, who were even considered Stanley Cup favorites for a short period.

But after suffering their first three-game losing streak since October, Keefe acknowledges that this series has been reminiscent of what his team has been through in the past.

“It's been difficult to understand,” Keefe said after Sunday night's crushing Game 3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers, per TSN's Chris Johnston.

Only four teams have come back from a 3-0 series hole to advance, and it's hard to believe the 2022-23 Leafs have any chance of doing that against the Panthers.

“The lights have been completely turned out on the brightest offensive stars featured across the marquee. That’s zero goals for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares in this series and an unfathomable 0-3 hole to the Florida Panthers as a direct result,” wrote Johnston on Monday.

“These are the players around which an entire era of Leafs hockey has been built and you have to believe we’re down to the final days of seeing them all compete together.”

Toronto gambled by paying their top four stars like kings, and with them not producing when the team absolutely needs it most, the offseason is going to be mired by question marks, and likely changes.

It's been disappointment after disappointment for fans of the team, and it's truly nearly impossible to believe that Toronto has scored just six goals over three games and lost three straight to a team that finished 19 points lower in the standings.

Sheldon Keefe's Maple Leafs haven't won since their Game 6 overtime victory against the Lightning in Round 1, and the way things are going, that magical moment was the beginning of the end for this core.