Brad Marchand gives his unfiltered thoughts on the Maple Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered yet another heartbreaking defeat on Sunday night as they imploded in front of their hometown fans, losing Game 7 while tying the most lopsided Game 7 loss on home ice in National Hockey League history with a brutal 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers.

A big part of that loss was long time Maple Leafs nemesis Brad Marchand who picked up a goal and 2 assists in the game, setting an NHL record in the process with a 5-0 record against in single team in Game 7 scenarios.

In spite of the fact that he has owned the Leafs his entire career however, Marchand admitted that he was concerned coming into Game 7 on Sunday.

"This one was probably the one I was most nervous for," admitted Marchand on Sunday night. "I've said it before, I wasn't just pumping their tires, they are a different team this year."

Marchand continued to praise the Maple Leafs for their hard work and commitment to defense, admitting again that he was genuinely concerned ahead of Game 7.

"We got the bounces tonight but they were competing at a much higher level," said Marchand. "Very detailed defensively, I give them a lot of credit. They competed way harder than they ever have so I was more nervous for this one than any other."

If it sounds like Marchand was being too kind to the Maple Leafs he wasn't done there, even going so far as to call out much of the criticism that is being directed in the direction of the Maple Leafs.

"I think if you look at the heat this team catches, it’s actually really unfortunate," said Marchand. "You know, they’ve been working and building something really big here for a while, and they were a different brand of hockey this year, and they’re getting crucified, and I don’t think it’s justified."

Perhaps not the comments you would have expected from Marchand in this scenario, but ones that I'm sure players in the Maple Leafs locker room will appreciate once the pain of losing such an ugly Game 7 has subsided.

You can hear some of Marchand's post-game comments in the clip below: